Fallen Angels & Lost SOLDIERs
by KazumaRokubi
Summary: Suppose that a former Turk, who was once a SOLDIER, has now been found after being listed as 'MIA - Presumed Dead' for nearly eight years, only to have to face the very people who've caused her the most pain. Just who is she? R&R plz.
1. Missing In Action Presumed Dead

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of it's content, affiliated products, etc. I do however, own this story and Sayuri, whose story is what you'll see here. DO NOT TAKE MY STORY OR MY CHARACTER!! Oh and yes, I might make some characters seem a little OOC but you'll live cause this is my story. If you don't like it then don't read it!! If I see that you've used my ideas w/o my permission I will send you to Hell!! So don't do it! Thank you, Storm Wolf

**_--Fallen Angels And Lost SOLDIERs, Chapter One: MIA - Presumed Dead--_**

Tseng sat at his desk, trying to decide who would be best to send on the latest mission Rufus wanted done from their make-shift HQ. The mission consisted of searching for some old, abandoned lab of Hojo's that supposedly existed somewhere in the vicinity of Gongaga. The true object of the search, however, was inside the lab: what Rufus really wanted was to find the person supposedly sealed inside the lab in a state of cryogenic-chamber induced suspended animation. Rufus wanted to find the one and only female SOLDIER on record, who had been thought dead since Sephiroth's destruction of Nibelheim. This meant that she had been listed as "MIA - Presumed Dead" for a little over eight years.

"Rude! Reno!" Tseng called, coming to a quick decision that he was certain he'd probably regret later. The two Turks entered his small office with obvious apprehension; Tseng only sounded like that when he was annoyed with them.

"Sir?" Both said carefully, for Tseng had hung his head in his hands and was rubbing his temples in aggravation. Tseng snapped his attention back to his subordinates and grimaced.

"President Rufus has decided that two of us must go and search all of Gongaga and the surrounding landscape for an abandoned lab that Hojo hid there many years ago. What you seek is within the lab." Here he received a pair of puzzled looks so he explained further. "You are looking for someone all of us once knew rather well. Rufus found a file indicating that Sayuri is sealed within this lab, if it even exists, and he has decided that she would be an asset to his plans." He paused and smirked, for Rude had risen both eyebrows in surprise, though he showed no other emotion. Reno, however, had predictably flushed and was gaping like a goldfish.

"Sayuri's there? But they told me she died! I mean, what's up with that, yo?!" Reno finally managed to sputter. Rude and Tseng both knew that the two had been fond of each other in their youth as rookie Turks; when Sayuri was retired from SOLDIER after sustaining injuries that almost killed her, the former President Shinra had made her a Turk so as to continue her usefulness in a less health-hazardous fashion. This was because Sayuri had been created with hopes for breeding her with Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal to produce even stronger SOLDIERs.

Angeal had refused to touch the child, as had Genesis, while Sephiroth had taken to her with frightening speed. It was true that the creators of the Jenova Projects had hoped for this because of Sephiroth's place as the strongest SOLDIER, but he was still a few years her elder and this worried some of the people involved. Professor Gast had been strongly against it, as had a teenaged Rufus, who was slightly younger than Sayuri. This in itself should have stopped the attempts that Hojo was making to produce super-SOLDIERs, which was ironic since SOLDIER was a group of already super-elite warriors.

Unfortunately, a few months after he began letting Sephiroth take the girl, Hojo proudly announced that the girl was pregnant with Sephiroth's child. Genesis and Angeal were reported MIA so they were not informed, but Zack had met her and was outraged when he was told. His anger then transferred to Tseng when the head Turk learned of the situation. It was only a week later that Sayuri was injured in combat with ten Genesis copies.

Sayuri had tried to stop the Genesis copies from entering the Shinra facilities and they had very nearly killed the young woman. She was airlifted to Deepground and treated for her injuries; that had been back when it was still a medical facility for SOLDIERs. It was from them that the President and the executives, including Hojo, learned that the copies' attacks on her had caused her to lose the child she had been carrying. The young woman did not mourn the loss, however, and was more than happy to once again take up a position as a Turk. Over the next few months to a year, she fought along side the Turks as one of them; no, she was the best of them and they knew it. She had always been fond of Reno and Rude; therefore it hardly surprised anyone when she and Reno had gone on a couple of casual dates.

Unfortunately, Sayuri was reported MIA and later presumed dead shortly after Sephiroth was reported killed in the Nibelheim incident; President Shinra, his executives, Rufus, Tseng, Reno, and Rude were the only ones who knew of her origins as a SOLDIER and it was speculated that Hojo had kidnapped her to try his "experiments" anew. Hojo's labs were all raided, because the President wanted his best bodyguard back, but to no avail. Sayuri was never found and eventually listed as "MIA - Presumed Dead". Reno, of course, pretended to get over it. But it was only after she was presumed dead that he became a heavy smoker and drinker rather than a light/social smoker and drinker. Rude noted the change, as did Tseng, but neither of them said a word about it.

Now here Tseng was telling them that she might be out there somewhere? It didn't take either of them more than a heartbeat to think of their answer: "When did we leave?"

"Yesterday." Was all Tseng said in return, watching their retreating backs as they left, not even waiting for the rest of his answer.


	2. Sayuri Awakes

Okay, guys. For those of you who'll flame me for making Sayuri's relatives who I did, this is my FAN-fiction so if you don't like it, then don't read it anymore. If you ARE a fan of VinLu pairing, then by all means, read on! Now, enjoy and please R&R!!

**_--Fallen Angels & Lost SOLDIERs, Chapter 2: Sayuri Awakes --_**

Upon their arrival in Gongaga, the two Turks decided that Rude would check out the village and abandoned reactor while Reno took the surrounding landscape. Whoever found the laboratory first had to call the other before entering it, and then commence the search for Sayuri once the opposite partner was en-route to the location. Having reached this agreement, the two Turks separated.

"Ah, man! What am I supposed to find out here in the middle of nowhere, yo?" Reno grumbled, sitting on a rock while he took a cigarette break. Sighing, he decided to look for caves or some such and check them. However, the cave found him: as he took a few steps to the east of the rock, which was south of the actual village, the ground beneath him caved in to form a rapidly growing pit. "Oh, shit! A fucking sinkhole!" Reno thought as he fell into darkness.

As he fell, something struck the base of his skull, knocking him unconscious. When he awoke, he found himself lying on the floor of an extremely dusty hallway. :Yo! There must've been abandoned tunnels under Gongaga all this time and nobody knew about it!: Reno thought, a bit impressed. A soft sound, like that of machines humming, reached his ears and he followed it even as he called Rude. Examining the things he passed, he quickly realized this must be the abandoned lab center. :C'mon, c'mon. Rude, pick up your damn phone, yo!: Then he heard Rude's deep, "Rude here."

"Yeah, man. I think I found the lab, yo. There's this huge moss-covered rock to the south of the village and just a little east of that rock is a fresh sinkhole. I fell in," Here Rude could be heard trying to hide his laughter on the other end of the line. Reno grumbled about killing him later and continued, "and I'm in some kind of underground building that's got like ten inches of dust on everything, yo. Seriously, this place hasn't been used in at least a decade from the looks of it."

"Alright. I'm on my way; be careful man. She may not be the way she was the last time you saw her." Rude's word stung a bit, but Reno knew it was true and took the advice seriously.

"Yeah, I'll be careful, yo." Reno could practically see Rude smirk just from the sound of his chuckle. "Well, don't sound so cheerful of the fact that she might rip my throat out, cause that's cold, yo." With that, Reno hung up his phone and carefully picked his way past bones, broken pieces of metal and glass, and rubble to a door that had light under it. He assumed it had to be what he was looking for because the sound of machines was loudest here.

Reno was surprised to find that the door opened with only a small push of his palm. Much to his amazement, the room he found within was spotlessly clean and functioning at full tilt. "Whoa. Now here's a looker for ya. Not a hint of the mess outside, yo." Reno mused, absently running his fingers over a control panel. Walking along a row of Mako chambers and several cryo-chambers, he finally found what he was searching for. There she was, just as she had been when he'd last seen her: long reddish black hair, green eyes, and unbelievably beautiful. She was almost as tall as him at about five foot eight and fine boned with pale skin.

Reno smiled softly, pressing a hand against the glass of the chamber and then his forehead. "I've missed you…Sayuri." He whispered softly. Slowly, almost hesitantly, he started the process that would reverse the cryogenic induced hibernation. As the machines hissed and poured out steam, Reno rummaged through the various cabinets and drawers, looking for something that Sayuri could wear. He imagined that the clothes she was wearing, if she was even wearing anything, had probably shrunk a bit in seven years' time.

As he was looking, Rude arrived in the lab. "Reno, did you find her?" Reno simply walked over to the chamber Sayuri was sealed in as a series of beeps signaled that she could be safely removed from the confines of the small tube-like cell. As he opened the door, Sayuri would've collapsed onto the floor, but Rude quickly caught her. Between the two of them, the guys got the newer, baggy clothes onto Sayuri right over her old ones. Reno then carried her out to the helicopter, even though she was still out like a light and a pale blue tint still clung to her skin.

"Let's get her back to Junon and have a doctor take a look at her. Tseng will be glad to hear that's she's alive." Rude said as he and Reno made certain that she was safely strapped into the medical cot in the back of the helicopter. Reno shook his head as Rude motioned towards the pilot's chair, asking, "Aren't you gonna take your place as pilot?" Rude sighed and took over the controls while setting a course for Junon.

Three days later, in Healin

Reno and Rude had been shipped out to try and find Shelke, because the former Tsviet was the only person who might be able to tell them why Sayuri had DNA from both Dr. Lucrecia Crescent and Vincent Valentine. Hojo had told everyone that she was a genetically and bio-chemically engineered experiment and that she had no parents or family connections, so no one would miss her if she turned out to be a failure. But if the DNA from the blood tests was accurate, then that meant that she did have at least one living relative and that relative was her father. They wanted to double check this information, however, before they ruined anyone's day by making a huge mistake.

They had contacted Reeve and, through him, Yuffie. Yuffie had then contacted Vincent and he was bringing Shelke to meet them in Healin. Reno and Rude waited for nearly an hour after reaching the lodge, and Reno was starting to get impatient at being separated from Sayuri for too long. He'd lost her once and he didn't intend to lose her again if he had anything to do with it. It didn't matter to him that so far, she'd only been conscious and coherent for a total of four hours out of the seventy-two she'd been in Junon or that she didn't seem to recognize Rude or himself. He was going to take care of her no matter what because she had been his best friend, possibly even more than that, with the exclusion of Rude. Grumbling impatiently, Reno began to pace in irritation.

"Where the hell are they?! They were supposed to be here almost an hour ago!" Rude just shook his head and sighed. Quite suddenly, the sound of an airship approaching reached their ears, causing them to look up. Coming in fast and slightly too low was the _Shera_, Cid's newest airship.

"This cannot be a good sign…" Came from a slightly startled Rude as the ship landed. They were right: the first one off the ship was none other than Yuffie, followed more slowly by Vincent and Shelke, then the rest of the former AVALANCHE members and Reeve. "Oh, this is sooo not good!" Reno said, cursing under his breath. As Cloud was pulled from the ship by Tifa and Denzel.

"What're they doing here?" Reno grumbled to Vincent once the solitary man was within whispering range.

"'They' are on vacation." Came from a rather cross-sounding Barret.

"Fine! Whatever, let's just go! Shelke, Vincent, we need you to come with us." Reno's impatience to be back was quickly besting him. Shelke nodded and followed Rude back to the Turks' helicopter, but Vincent stood his ground.

"Is it true?" His question puzzled Reno as first, but after a moment it surprised him. Vincent saw his confusion, and repeated the question with added detail, "Is it true that Lucrecia had a daughter besides only having Sephiroth?" Reno nodded, ever so slowly and slightly that Vincent alone saw it before he turned away to take his place in the pilot's seat of the helicopter. Vincent stood paused for only a moment, then he climbed into the helicopter as well.

Back in Junon

A bright light tried to force its way through her eyelids, so she forced them tighter together. Everything hurt: her head, her limbs, her throat, and most of all her abdomen. She knew why everything hurt and fought against it. She'd been at peace in the cryo-chamber; there was no one to hurt you or bother you when you were in a frozen sleep. But she did miss some things back in the real world. She knew that he was there and that made her wake up and look around groggily.

"Where am I?" Her voice sounded raw and frail, which was pretty much how her throat felt. A nurse pushed aside a long curtain and even more light burned into her vision. She hissed and cringed away from the light: she'd gone seven years without it after all.

"I'm glad to see that you're awake." She knew that voice…she raised her eyes against the burning light and was shocked to see Rufus Shinra standing in the doorway to the room she was in, with Tseng not but a step behind him. "How're you feeling, Sayuri?"

He was older and he seemed different somehow…like he had more authority. Perhaps his father had retired and left him in charge of the company. Yes, that must be it. But what had become of Sephiroth? She knew that Angeal and Genesis had been MIA and thought dead when she locked herself in her mother's secret lab…but Sephiroth's death had still been unconfirmed. She looked at them with a hint of distrust. Suppose Sephiroth had come back to his senses and wanted to claim her again?

Well, she wouldn't have it! She'd learned that he was her half-brother while she slept, by having all of her mother's records from the lab's mainframe feed into her memory. Therefore, she knew all that her mother had known and seen fit to store into computer files in a secret laboratory in Gongaga. Sayuri had managed to escape from Sephiroth seven years ago and she had found the lab. She had then sealed herself inside it, killing all who entered to search for her for more than a month. After that first month, no one came, so she felt it would be safe to initiate a cryo-sleep on herself.

She was surprised that someone had found her. She vaguely remembered seeing Reno and Rude, but as they were not here that must have been a hallucination. They couldn't have been in the lab. She had used an earthquake to permanently hide it long ago. She did not trust Rufus simply because she could tell that he HAD changed from the teenager she'd known. Tseng she trusted only so far as she could throw him, which had been about twenty yards on a weak throw the last time she'd thrown him. And she had only gotten stronger since, but this didn't mean that she trusted the Turk any more than she had back then.

After all, someone who killed and kidnapped others for a living couldn't very well be fully trusted. Not unless the someone in question truly felt any kind of normal emotion in response to being issued the order: such as Reno's horror upon seeing the result's of her first mission as a Turk. She had completely slaughtered the target without mercy. She hadn't felt any compassion for the man, who had long since become more of a monster than a human being. He was one of Hojo's failed attempts at creating a super-SOLDIER from the DNA of herself and Genesis, so who better to dispose of the beast than it's "mother"?

He had been completely unable to think, acting purely on predatory instinct. Sayuri had ripped it's heart from it's chest while it was still beating and with the other hand she ripped out it's vocal cords so it couldn't scream. Hojo had been very impressed with her performance but she was disgusted by the stench of the pathetic creature's still twitching corpse and had tried to leave before Reno and Rude arrived to clean it up. She had not wanted Reno to see what she was truly capable of; the power of the monster that slept inside of her. She did not want any of them to know what she truly was, but especially not Reno. That's when she decided that she would talk only to Reno or Rude.

"Where is Reno?" Sayuri asked coldly, shoving aside the nurse who had been checking all of her vitals and such. The nurse gave an affronted huff and persisted in trying to take a second blood sample for testing. This irritated Sayuri so she simply picked the poor girl up with one hand. Turning to Rufus looking only slightly angry, she snarled at him. "I asked you where Reno was, Rufus! I shall not ask nicely again!"

Meanwhile, on the floor below, Reno and the others had finally gotten back and Sayuri could be heard clean through the thick floors and walls. Reno grinned and, when he looked at Rude, saw that his partner was chuckling. "She sounds fine, doesn't she?" Rude asked, a small grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Yeah, she sure does!" Reno said as he lead the way up to Sayuri's room.


	3. Truths & Confessions

Okay guys, a warning right now that there is a whole sex scene at the end of the chapter, so if you don't think you can handle it then leave this page now!!

_**--Fallen Angels & Lost SOLDIERs, chapter 3: Truths and Confessions--**_

Walking into Sayuri's room with a slight spring to his step, Reno quickly took in the scene. Sayuri was holding the nurse by the front of her shirt, making her chest rise above Sayuri's head. What Reno said next was a bit too cheerful, "Now, Sayuri, put the nice young lady down. She's only do what she was told, which was to make sure you were properly cared for." The young woman raised an eyebrow in amusement. She set the girl down as if she were a rag doll, and yet the girl was completely unharmed from Sayuri's rough handling.

"Fine. Then she is of no consequence to me. I do not need some child to care for me; I am quite capable of caring for myself, thanks." Here she walked right up to Reno, having to look up ever so slightly to meet his mischievous blue eyes. "You, however, had better keep yourself in check or I'll be forced to do something neither of us will like."

The two stared each other off for several minutes before suddenly laughing at each other. Reno wiped a tear away from Sayuri's cheek as he managed to control his laughter, saying, "It's good to see that you're still the same girl that I once worked with."

"And I see you're still an incorrigible player!" Sayuri replied as Elena flung herself upon Reno.

"Sempai! Where have you been? You promised to teach me how to better control my materia today!" Came Elena's pathetic whine. Reno tried to disentangle himself from the girl, who pretended that she liked him but she was actually trying to make Tseng jealous. Sayuri only snickered at him.

"You always were popular with girls, what with that red hair and those gorgeous blues." Here she took an opportunity to flaunt the beauty that she knew she had. "My, my. What a pretty little thing you are! Of course, it'll take you time to reach Reno's standards. He prefers women with a bit more…" Here she took the off the medical gown, revealing a skin tight body suit that she had slipped on without anyone noticing. The suit perfectly accentuated her voluptuous curves: she had a 34-D cup-size, a trim waist, and full hips. "body to their figure." She said this last bit as she pressed herself between the two young Turks, suppressing a laugh at Elena's scarlet face.

She didn't even care that Rude, Rufus, and Tseng were blushing noticeably as well. She only cared that Reno caught her glance with a smile and that Elena had effectively been warned that Reno was off limits to her little love games. It was only then that she noticed Vincent and Shelke. She immediately felt a wave of shame and covered her self with her own long black cloak. She concentrated her gaze on the floor and sat down on her bed like a scolded child.

"Vincent Valentine; I am pleased to finally meet the man I've heard so much about." She finally raised her green eyes to meet Vincent's crimson ones. She knew who he was from Lucrecia's files, but she wondered if her mother had ever told Vincent the truth…? "Mother described you well in the files, even though you've changed from the pictures…your hair is much longer but it is not difficult to recognize you. I am Sayuri Crescent." Vincent simply stared.

She looked very much like her mother, but there were some differences. For instance: she wore her hair loose rather than in a ponytail; her eyes were green and that was probably a result of Hojo's experiments on her; she was darker in complexion, almost like she had a golden tan. But Reno had said she'd been underground in a cell for seven years…how could she have a tan? He finally decided to ask why he and Shelke had been brought to meet her, other than their connections to Lucrecia, when Rufus spoke up on that very subject.

"Now, I want the two of you to realize that I asked for you because of one very simple thing: Sayuri's DNA samples revealed her parentage, but we want Shelke to confirm the mother's DNA if she can. Not only that, but her mother was someone all of us present either knew or knew of. The DNA also tells us that her father is still alive." Rufus did not take his eyes from Vincent's and it was this that made Vincent realize what Rufus must mean.

"What is the question?" Shelke asked, strict to duty as usual.

"Did Dr. Crescent ever have a biological daughter or use one of her ovum for an experiment that resulted in a female offspring?" This was Tseng; Sayuri growled at him for his reference to her as "a female offspring" when she was sitting right there, but he ignored her.

Shelke was silent for several minutes before slowly answering, "She does briefly mention having a daughter, yes. But the file is very old and it was closed with the title "Project Failed". It says that the child was named Alpha Valentine." Here Sayuri visibly flinched. "It also says that the child was the result of artificial insemination, and that the father was Vincent Valentine…" Here Shelke realized exactly what she was saying and stopped dead. Vincent was glowering at the wall and Sayuri could no longer stand it. She stood, turned to the window, and dove straight through it. Reno was hanging out the window yelling instantly.

"SAYURI!! WOMAN!! YO!! YOU'RE GONNA KILL YOURSELF, IDIOT!!" Moments later, Reno dashed out the door and down to the ground floor as quick as he could. Sayuri hit the ground running and was on the edges of Junon, heading in the direction that she knew Midgar lay in, by the time Reno caught her. Grabbing her wrist, he spun her around before she could pull away. She didn't try to fight him, which worried him a bit. Tilting her chin up so she was looking at him, he sighed and wiped away some of the tear streaks.

"You know, that could've gone much better." He said with a small smile, trying to cheer her up. She did smile, but she also cried harder. Reno cursed and pulled her into a close hug.

"Reno…just take me home, please. I can't stand it here! Take me back to the mountains where its quiet! The noise here hurts…" That's right, he'd forgotten that she not only had extremely acute hearing, but that she could sense emotions and sometimes the thoughts that went with those emotions. Sighing, he picked her up and carried her to a nearby inn that was actually part of Junon, even though it was several miles outside the village. He checked them in and wasn't surprised when the innkeeper commented on what a beautiful wife he had: he was carrying her and she was asleep after all.

He gently laid her down on the only bed in the room when the innkeeper graciously unlocked and opened the door. He supposed that he'd just have to sleep on the floor because even though he liked Sayuri, he wasn't about to take advantage of her trust. Smiling softly, he carefully lifted her and pulled the covers out from under her slight weight before pulling the covers up over her shoulders. It had started to pour rain just after they got inside and he listened to the soft sound contently.

He hadn't realized he fell asleep until he woke up to Sayuri curling up beside him. "Oh, no missy. You get the bed, yo." He said picking her up to put her back to bed. Sayuri smiled and, once on the bed, pulled him down beside her. She then kissed him, shyly at first, but when he responded in kind she leaned into his chest. He pulled away slowly, staring at her curiously.

"I've wanted to do that for a long time…I'm sorry; I didn't mean to…" Sayuri was cut short when Reno laughed. She tried to hide the automatic flinch but Reno saw it and smiled gently, cupping her face in his hands.

"I've wanted to do that, too." He said before kissing her so that her head spun slightly. She pressed herself against him, wanting to be as close to him as possible. Reno gently pulled back just enough to caress her neck with his tongue and lips, causing her to tremble. Reno did not stop: he began to nibble ever so gently as his hands worked at removing her clothes. Sayuri found that all she could do was make a small sound and clutch at his shoulders.

Reno succeeded at removing her cloak and bodysuit, but he was thwarted by her bra and underwear. With one hand he reached around her shoulders and quickly undid her bra before turning his attention to her full breasts. Here Sayuri gasped with pleasure: Reno was gently tracing circles around her nipples with his tongue and nipping so softly that she could barely feel his teeth in-between sucking like a starving child. She almost couldn't stand it as he pulled his jacket off, which was quickly followed by his shirt, without ever stopping his ministrations.

"Reno…!" She gasped, slightly annoyed, as he pulled away and slid her underwear off. She lay on the bed, waiting for him to make a move. When he didn't she pulled him down with one hand and undid his pants with the other. Reno pulled away and smirked at her with that knowing smirk of his. She couldn't help but smile at him as he ran one of his hands up and down her thigh teasingly. Even though his pants were undone, he refused to remove them just yet.

He returned his attention to her breasts and took as much of the right one into his mouth as he could, sucking gently yet vigorously. Sayuri gasped and was temporarily distracted from his free hands, which was what he wanted. Reno slowly slid her legs open before he gently teased her by playfully running his thumb over her clit. When she moaned, he took it as an invitation and slowly slid first one finger and then another inside of her. She truly gasped at the mixture of pain and pleasure this created.

"Ahh…Reno, what-?" But as he gently used his finger to caress her vaginal walls, she found that she couldn't speak. No one had ever done these things to her before: it felt very good and she wanted more. Careful not to interfere with Reno's fun, she used one of her feet to slide his pants as far off as she could. Reno smiled and playfully stuck out his tongue. He slowly withdrew his fingers and was shocked when Sayuri sucked on them; if he hadn't been turned on already then that certainly would've done it.

He restrained himself, however, and bent his head down to kiss her inner thighs lightly. This earned him a soft moan and he smirked before he teasingly lick the edges of her vaginal lips. Moaning even more, as she was unable to speak from pure pleasure and desire, Sayuri found the top of his head and gently gripped his hair. Reno decided to tease her a bit more…he wanted to make her good and wet so he'd be sure that he wouldn't hurt her. With that thought, he pushed his tongue inside of her and licked every single bit he touched, savoring her flavor. She bit her lip as she tried to keep from crying out, but Reno heard her muffled sounds and found himself getting closer to being unable to resist her.

She was just so damn beautiful and he wanted her so badly… he paused as she came, the force of her climax trapping his tongue. He licked his lip and chin. That'd done it; he positioned himself on top of her and kissed her a bit roughly as he quickly shed his remaining clothes. Pulling away she looked up at him, begging him to have his way. She knew what came next and she wanted Reno so very badly… She cried out as he carefully yet quickly pushed himself inside of her, his hands on her hips to keep himself correctly aligned. He stopped, a worried look on his face.

"Did it hurt?" She smiled and pushed against him, causing him to groan softly this time.

"Only a little at first…but its already going away." She whispered. He nodded and began to thrust, slowly and carefully. Sayuri loved every single move he made against her already tender nerves. Reno wasn't surprised when she came again and he kept going right through it, which only made her more sensitive as he began to thrust deeper and faster. She gasped every time he moved and bit back several loud moans as she came again. Reno knew that he'd lose it if she did that one more time…he was seriously trying not to climax just yet.

So he began to pull most of the way out and then quickly thrust deep inside her. This did make her scream; he smiled and Sayuri arched her back right into his thrusts. Reno groaned because this felt even better than her grinding in rhythm against him had! He felt her start to tighten and slowed his pace slightly. As she climax for the fourth time, he thrust one last time and allowed himself to come inside of her.

Sayuri gasped as Reno came inside her; it was a rather nice feeling. Reno, exhausted, collapsed beside her and gently pulled her into a close embrace. She pressed as close to him as she could, draping her right leg over his waist and legs, while laying her head on his chest. She sighed with satisfaction and he drew in deep, long breathes. She looked up into his eyes drowsily and whispered softly, "I love you Reno." Reno smiled as she snuggled into his side and drifted off to sleep.

"I love you, too, Sayuri. I always have…" he whispered, kissing the top of her head a bit awkwardly before he allowed himself to drift into kind of half-sleep.


	4. The Truth About Her Name

**_--Fallen Angels & Lost SOLDIERs, Chapter 4: The Truth About Her Name--_**

"Reno!! Hey, are you alive in there?" Rude's voice filtered through the door, shattering through Sayuri's semi-awake pleasure as she pressed in closer against Reno's side. Reno gave a groggy half-mumble as he wrapped his left arm about Sayuri's slender waist and rolled onto his side, allowing him to face her.

"Why the hell is he at the door at five-thirty in the morning?" Reno groaned into the pillow. Sayuri gave a contented sigh as she snuggled up to his chest. Even half asleep, she knew that one of them would have to get up or Rude would just force the door open. Reno grumbled savagely as he got up, pulling on his pants as he went to answer the door. Sayuri allowed herself to begin drifting back into sleep as she stretched out into the warm spot Reno's body had left. Just as Rude began pounding on the door some more, Reno swung it open, nearly getting hit instead, and snapped at his friend. "What?"

"We may have a small problem, partner. Rufus is looking for her and so is Vincent; do you know where she is?" Reno cursed slightly and retreated back into the room, Rude in his wake. Reno half lay, half sat on the edge of the bed closest to the door; this let him kiss the back of Sayuri's neck softly and she sighed, wiggling away from the ticklish caress. Rude's jaw practically hit the floor. "You mean you two…you guys didn't!"

Reno just gave his friend a smirk as a response. Meanwhile, Sayuri rolled onto her back to look at the two men while keeping herself reasonably covered. She sighed in a rather satisfied way as she lay against Reno, who was leaning back on the headboard running a hand through his hair. She smiled because this was one of maybe four times she'd ever seen him without his goggles on and she liked the way he looked without them. Reluctantly, she started to get up only to have Reno catch her by the hips and pull her back.

"Yo, did I say I wanted you to leave? You don't have to get up just because Rufus isn't getting his way, Yuri." Sayuri smiled at his affectionate nickname for her; he'd begun calling her that a long time ago and she was surprised to find that she'd missed having him call her by it. Reno wasn't ignoring Rude on purpose, but Sayuri was still naked after all… Sayuri pulled away gently after giving Reno a full kiss. Rude could only shake his head.

"Maybe not, but I want to shower and find some new clothes. Mine are no longer appropriate…" Here she lost her smile momentarily, but quickly replaced it was a slightly sad one. "And Vincent is looking for me as well. I owe it to him to meet with him at least once. He didn't even know I existed until yesterday, so I think he deserves an explanation, don't you?" Reno sighed, but he nodded to show that he did understand. Sayuri smiled again, made a small bow to Rude, and entered the small bathroom of the hotel room.

As soon as she closed the door, she could hear Rude say, "Reno, you know that this is -NOT- going to go over well with Rufus _or_ Vincent! What happens if she becomes a monster again? She'd kill you in no time flat! Just like she did that kid!" Sayuri sighed and remembered the teenager that Rude spoke of: he'd been a mere boy, no older than fourteen, and he had been another of Hojo's many failed experiments. They were failures in the fact that they were primitive, bloodthirsty animals that could not be controlled.

The boy had tried to attack her, no one really knew the real reason why, but everyone assumed it was because of her connections with Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal. It could have simply been an error in judgment where the poor thing thought she was weak enough to be prey. She had naturally retaliated, but the monster proved stronger than anticipated and she was forced to call on a very well-kept secret. Few people knew of the Alpha gene and many of those who did thought it a simple myth. Lucrecia, however, discovered it by accident and tried to lock it away.

Despite her efforts, Hojo still found it and decided that Sayuri was a prime specimen to test the theory of fusing one of the WEAPONs like Chaos and Omega with a human host. It was unknown if Hojo knew that Lucrecia had saved Vincent's life by implanting Chaos into him or not. Either way, Hojo forced the Alpha gene to fuse into Sayuri's very DNA, much like he had done to Sephiroth with Jenova cells. The result was quite similar to Vincent and Chaos; a monster that slept within, ready to strike in a heartbeat.

"No." Hearing that one simple word, stated so finally and confidently, made Sayuri's heart stop. Reno wasn't done there, though. "I don't believe that she's quite the monster that everyone thinks she is. She's still human Rude; she has feelings, just like us, and she's just as afraid of Alpha as we are." She heard the sounds of Reno rising from the bed. "Now would you mind leaving for a bit so I can get dressed and check on her?" She could almost feel Rude's smug, knowing smirk through the door as he gave derisive snort.

"Yeah…right! Check on her; I believe that no more than I believe that I could beat Sephiroth one-on-one." Sayuri blushed at bit, not out of embarrassment, but rather suppressed amusement at Rude's statement and the tone he used. Smiling softly, she slid into the shower as she let the sheet she'd been using as a robe drop to the floor. After a moment, she heard the room's door open and close as Rude left. She stood, letting the relatively hot water run over her. After a few minutes, she heard the bathroom door open and then close softly.

"Can I join you?" Reno asked jokingly. Sayuri smiled to herself as he climbed into the shower beside her, not waiting for her answer. "Want some help? I can scrub your back, y'know…" Sayuri turned around to face him, looking up at him with a soft smile. She was pretty much entirely soaked and Reno's cheeks burned a slight red. He'd never seen her in this scenario and she was quite a sight. Slowly, almost hesitantly, he reached out to touch her right cheek.

She turned away and he frowned. He knew that it'd been too damn quiet in here while Rude was talking to him! She'd heard what the slightly older Turk had had to say, and he knew that it'd had to have stung. She was rather fond of Rude, she thought of him as one of her best friends actually, and Reno knew it. Therefore hearing the usually quiet man say those things about her had to hit a nerve somewhere. He wondered if she'd heard him or if she'd just stopped listening after Rude said, "What if she turns into a monster again?"

"Shit, Yuri! Don't listen to Rude…he's just worried about me is all. Plus, he doesn't know you like I do. I know you wouldn't do that kind of stuff, yo. I know that you regret every single death you've ever had anything to do with!" Reno smiled, trying to cheer her up. It worked, to a point. She did smile, but it was a sad one. "Ah, man…c'mon. Come here…" Reno pulled her close and she cried for a few minutes, each tear scalding a path down her cheeks as she allowed herself to cry for the first time in a very long time.

When she had stopped, Reno tilted her chin up and smirked. Then he searched her eyes before pulling her close and kissing her breathless. His hands traveled down to the small of her back, pulling her right into him, as close as she could be without merging into his flesh. Sayuri ran her hands up into his hair as he broke the kiss and began a trail of smoldering kisses down her neck and left shoulder. A small sound escaped from her lips as he gently suckled at her nipple. She knew where this was heading and she wasn't sure if she really wanted him to stop.

Still suckling with a small swirl of his tongue around the delicate flesh, Reno gently pushed one knee between Sayuri's legs. Curiously, he trailed his fingertips down her side and along the inside of her thigh…he was rewarded with a small moan. Experimentally, he pressed two fingers inside her, to see how wet she was. He was pleasantly surprised to find that she was hot, wet, and more than willing to accept him. Smirking a bit smugly, he slowly caressed her, manipulating her clit and g-spot expertly.

Another moan and a soft gasp of his name…yeah, he liked this. He found that he wanted to make her scream his name like she had last night. But Sayuri wasn't going to fool around this time…she brought one leg up and around his waist, forcing him to stop his fun little administrations. He raised an eyebrow, a bit startled. He didn't have to wait for an answer for more than a moment as she pressed herself against his already hard and throbbing cock.

"Oh, well in that case…" _:God he looks so smug!: _Sayuri thought…and yet she loved that little smirk of his. It made him look mischievously handsome and yet completely arrogant at the same time, which wasn't necessarily hard to do. Reno pressed himself harder against her and was a bit surprised as he slid inside without any problems or guidance from either of them.

_:Oh but god, she's tight! The kind of tight that feels insanely good but -almost- causes discomfort and pain!:_ Reno thought while he had to force himself to keep from coming too soon as he thrust hard and deep inside her. She was moaning a bit loudly and neither of them really cared…this felt too damn good. They both gave low moans as Reno exploded inside of her and she climaxed at exactly the same time. As her muscles tightened around him, he felt a bit like her body was milking every drop it could get and he smiled, his forehead against her shoulder as he continued to thrust slowly against Sayuri's climax. He hadn't even quite finished his own and he was a bit shocked as she moaned his name…

"Ahh, Reno don't stop! Please don't stop!" She begged and he happily obliged as he found himself hardening inside her. He realized something as she gave a soft whimper of pleasure. As his cock hardened, she was almost continually moaning. He realized that, as tight as she was right after a climax, it must feel pretty good for him to be forcing the muscles to shift to re-accommodate him. Sayuri's fingers were caught in his hair, but it wasn't painful, and Reno found that a bit amusing as he began a steady rhythm, making her grip his hair all the harder.

Sayuri couldn't help herself, she'd always loved Reno's hair, and she preferred to clutch at handfuls of his hair rather than dig her nails into his back and potentially cause him discomfort. It did not take long for Sayuri to reach another climax, which was immediately followed by another when Reno proved to be unrelenting in his now hard and fast-paced thrusts.

As Sayuri cried out from pure pleasure, Reno pulled almost entirely out before driving himself as deep inside her as he could one last time. His climax was long and hard, and his body shook slightly with the force of it. Kissing Sayuri a bit roughly, he trapped her screams of ecstasy and they died away in her throat as she returned his kiss with fiery passion. She broke the kiss as a sound, barely more than a whisper of a thought, reached her ears; someone or something was in the hotel room.

Biting back a small whimper of pleasure as Reno gently slid his cock out of her pussy, Sayuri realized that the water was beginning to turn cold. Giving herself a quick yet thorough scrubbing, Sayuri listened hard for any further sounds. Reno did likewise and soon the both of them were as clean as they were going to get (if they continued to try to shower while the other was around, that is). Reno gently nibbled at her neck but she half-heartedly pushed him away as she gracefully stepped out of the shower upon hearing real movement in the other room. This time Reno heard it as well and was instantly on guard.

Sayuri did not care that she was naked save for a bath towel loosely secured around her voluptuous figure: she did not like uninvited guests sneaking around amongst her belongings. She threw the door open and was shocked to see a woman that she did not recognize laying out clothes on the bed, which she had also made up. Reno, with a towel of his own, gave out a mild profanity and the woman smiled at him, saying, "Hi, Reno!"

"Fucking hell Tifa! Don't do that shit, yo!" Reno ran one hand back through his damp hair and, as he did so, he realized that he didn't know how long Tifa had been out here… :_AH FUCK…: _Sayuri caught his thought and chuckled. She still didn't know who this Tifa woman was though.

"Tifa, is it? My name is Sayuri. I presume you've been in here a reasonable amount of time, yes?" Tifa nodded and Reno turned positively scarlet while mumbling profanities under his breath. Tifa smiled and blushed a bit in her own turn. "I'm sorry you had to hear our…fun, but we didn't know you were here. May I ask why you're here, since we're on the topic?" Tifa blushed again and motioned to the clothes.

"I ran into Rude and he asked me to bring over these new clothes…so, I asked where I could find you and brought them over." Here Tifa paused and smiled. "You know, since I'm also a woman, I thought it might be less awkward than Rude bringing them. He also said that Elena refused to do it." Tifa added that last bit as Reno grumbled something along the lines of "Why couldn't he just send Elena then!"

Reno continued to grumble as he grabbed the clothes Rude had sent for him before heading back into the bathroom to get dressed. Sayuri smiled after the hot-headed Turk before returning her attention to Tifa. She looked over the clothes Rude had sent and carefully picked out a pair of leather leggings, a leather skirt with a thigh-high split on both sides, black undergarments, a plain white dress shirt, and a baby soft black leather vest.

She then carefully selected a long black trench coat, again leather, and a pair of fingerless leather fighting gloves. Now she looked like her old self: she had worn the Turk outfit, yes, but with some personal modifications. She always wore black leather styled like the Turk suits with a long black trench coat over it and her black fingerless gloves. She silently praised Rude, smiling, as she picked up her old gun holster and the belt holding a large dagger and her EMR. She expertly swung the belt around her waist and fastened it just as Reno emerged from the bathroom, once again clad in the bottom half of his customary Turk suit.

He froze upon seeing Sayuri fitting her gun holster onto her right thigh before she grabbed her knee-high, high-heeled leather boots, again black, with steel toes. It took her no more than a minute to pull on first her socks and then her boots. She had gotten fully dressed even quicker than Reno, who was still lacking his shirt. Tifa noticed the look Reno was aiming at this new young woman, Sayuri and smiled a bit. It was obvious to Tifa that he loved her, but it would probably be even more obvious to Cloud and the other guys.

Sayuri looked up and smirked, sticking her tongue out in a perfect imitation of Reno, who laughed at her. "I'll be back; I have to go find Vincent, but I'll be back soon. I promise…" She walked over and kissed him in that odd little way that she had. The way that made Reno want to pull her close and never let her go. She acted like she had when she'd been under Hojo's supervision and had simply given up fighting him. "Go back to bed, turkey. It's only 6:15 a.m." Here Sayuri smiled evilly. She knew that Reno hated being up this early and he cursed as she left, Tifa following right behind her. Reno sighed and collapsed onto the bed once he could no longer hear their footsteps. He groaned as a small pang of anxiety passed through him. She'd only been gone two minutes and he was worried! Grumbling to himself, he put it down as a physical reaction of separation and rolled onto his side to try to go back to sleep.

About an hour later, Reno woke up from a rather odd dream. There had been a woman that resembled Sayuri, talking about how Sayuri was different than normal people, normal women. It didn't make any sense to Reno's tired mind, so he simply pushed the dream to the back of his mind and went back to sleep.

--Aboard the _Shera,_ 6:45 a.m.--

Sayuri sighed as she boarded the large airship, not sure what these new people thought of her. She was startled when Reeve greeted her with a firm handshake and an abrupt hug. She had always liked Reeve; then her gazed dropped to a small cat that talked just like Reeve…

"Reeve, what IS this?" She asked, picking Cait Sith up by the tail and examining him. Reeve laughed as Cait Sith tried to get free of the ex-SOLDIER, ranting on about his name and status. Unimpressed, Sayuri set him back down. "A robot named Cait Sith, huh? I'm disappointed, Reeve. You could have at least made something that'd be more useful in a fight. He looks like he can barely beat a mog!"

"Take that back missy! I used to ride a mog, I'll have you know!" Cait Sith fumed up at the dark beauty. Sayuri blinked down at the small cat and smirked. Reeve started to say something but stopped and flinched when Sayuri aimed a slow, light kick at the cat who just managed to dodge.

"Sayuri, please don't do that!" Reeve said pleadingly. Sayuri continued to smirk but nodded to show that she would leave the robotic cat alone.

"Reeve, where is the one called Vincent Valentine?" Her voice had that SOLDIER edge to it, which made Reeve give her a truthful, immediate answer. It appeared that Vincent had not returned from his meeting with the Turks. Sayuri sighed as she walked over to the huge navigational globe in the center of the main deck and idly leaned against it. "Very well, I shall wait for him here then." She smiled at him, kindly this time, as Cloud and the others swarmed into the deck to get a look at this bizarre young woman that knew Reeve.

"Alpha Valentine…" Shelke spoke from her place among the former AVALANCHE gang, causing everyone to stare at the mention of the name Valentine attached to this stranger. "I see that you remained in Junon. I would have thought you would flee this big city, what with your monster "programming"."

Sayuri decided that she -DID NOT- like this Shelke very much at the moment. A bit crossly, she savagely spat at the young woman trapped in a girl's body, "I am not a machine, Tsviet!" Reeve sighed and inched away from the furious female. She hadn't been a SOLDIER for nothing, after all. "I have no master and I am not about to take insults from a midget, regardless of your status in Vincent's group of friends. I may have been expected to assist Sephiroth in his insanity, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let a Tsviet tell me that I'm the monster!"

Sayuri's eyes had a vicious golden glow to them. She glared out the glass observation window as she spoke, her voice savage, ""The pure will be "spared" for the cause, while the tainted will be hunted down and exterminated. They shall be slashed, strangled, and slaughtered. Beaten, stabbed, and crushed. Garroted and impaled. Shot and executed without mercy. The time has come to cleanse the world." Wasn't that how Weiss, your leader, said it? And I am the monster?" her eyes had taken on the color of molten gold now, and Shelke was afraid; Sayuri could smell her fear.

"Who do you think taught Rosso how best to kill, child? I am far worse than Rosso, simply because I am not psychotic, though I can be bloodthirsty. Want to try telling me that I should follow my "programming" again?" Shelke shook her head empathically, just as Cid could be heard shouting that Vincent was back. Sayuri turned to greet him and her eyes instantly returned to their usual green. "Vincent Valentine…I owe you an apology for my actions yesterday. I am…no longer accustomed to the close proximity of a large population."

"I can believe that…So you are Sayuri Crescent. Tell me, how is it that you became a SOLDIER?" Vincent did not speak this much very often, and some of the gang stared in shock. Sayuri flinched at the memory of her "induction" ceremony.

"I was drafted. My innate abilities were considered to be…invaluable to them. Also, as the only female bearer of a 60 and higher concentration of Jenova cells to -NOT- go insane, I was the only female who could stand a chance against the males. I had even defeated Sephiroth by accident." Vincent nodded; he could well imagine that she had. "I was ten when Hojo suggested that I be put through the Deepground program, which is what produced the Tsviets. The other Firsts, with the obvious exception of Genesis, never went to Deepground because none of them lived to see it. Deepground was supposed to be a medical facility for SOLDIER…but in reality, it was Hojo's playground. Deepground was where they sent you if you lived through everything else Hojo threw at you.

"Very few of us survived that place without losing our minds. Nero survived by means of relying on Weiss. Meanwhile Weiss himself survived by sheer willpower. I survived because I was not allowed to die. Sephiroth wouldn't let me die; I was to be the one to fuel his "Reunion". A load of shit really; I had always hated Sephiroth and Genesis wasn't much higher on my list of people that I liked. I was treated like royalty but trained mercilessly; the reason was simple: I was expected to do better because of my connections to Sephiroth.

"However, I was never Hojo's daughter: I have and will kill anyone who suggests it! My name is 'Alpha' Sayuri Valentine and I hate Hojo more than most people could ever dream of hating him." Her eyes met Vincent's, who had already been told that she was his daughter, but the others simply stood, absorbing the reality of her words. It was only then that the ones who'd seen Lucrecia in her cave noticed how closely she resembled not only Lucrecia, but Vincent as well. As many of them figured out what Sayuri was saying, Yuffie gave a laugh that was a bit hysterical and giddy at the same time.

"Are you trying to say that you're Vincent's sister or something?" It was obvious that the girl was trying to reason with Sayuri's words at the same time she was denying them.

"I have said what I came to say, now please excuse me. I do not like this type of company very much, Vincent. If ever you should want to find me, simply call for Alpha." Sayuri said, giving Yuffie an icy stare before walking calmly out of the main deck of the _Shera_ and promptly departed from the airship. She left many of the people on board confused and scared in her wake.


	5. Adanna

**_--Fallen Angels & Lost SOLDIERs, Chapter Five: Adanna--_**

Still a good deal annoyed and slightly hurt, which confused her in all truth, Sayuri decided that she had better find out what the hell Rufus wanted before going back to the inn…and waking up Reno. Silently fuming, she picked her way through the streets of Junon until she came upon the place that was the make-shift HQ of the once almighty Shinra Electric Power Company. She was greeted at the door by Rude, who then led her up and into Rufus's office, wisely remaining silent. The young president was waiting for her and stood when she entered.

"Ah…I knew you'd come back Sayuri, just as soon as Reno caught you. Now, I have a proposition to make: you come back to Shinra and do as I ask, no questions, and I'll let you do as you please when off-duty." Sayuri looked mistrustfully as Rufus: she had learned not to trust him when he was younger. Rufus noted the look and quickly continued in a different tone of voice. "You will be paid a handsome salary and the work will be honest: I want you to work within the WRO alongside Reeve, as my operative there. What do you say? Do we have a deal?"

"I'll think about it." Was all the reply he got as Sayuri turned her back on him and left without another word. To tell the truth, she wasn't at all certain that she wanted to be a part of Shinra ever again, not after her history with the company. She sighed as she looked at the clock on the wall in the lobby of the building: it was half-past eight…Reno wouldn't be awake yet and she was starting to get VERY hungry. Problem was that she had no gil whatsoever. Repressing another sigh, she began to head for the inn and accidentally bumped into someone. Muttering an apology, she heard someone laugh and looked up to see Reeve with some of the people from the airship.

"Well, now…Sayuri! Twice in one day? I can't recall ever getting to see you this often before!" With a small grin betraying her, Sayuri attempted to give an impression of Rufus and his haughty attitude when she replied to Reeve's teasing.

"Yes…we of SOLDIER can't be seen with mere mortals, as we are far superior and infinitely better-looking…." Another twitch at the corners of her lips as Reeve laughed even harder. Then she broke- she laughed for all she was worth, ignoring the fact that the others were clueless. She didn't know all of their names and when asked for introductions, Reeve kindly pointed out who was who. She smiled politely as each person was named: Cloud, whom she recognized as the boy who'd followed around after Zack, Tifa she already knew, a large black man named Barret, and the owner of the Shera, Cid.

"Hello, I'm pleased to meet all of you: my name is Sayuri. I realize that I was…a bit rude earlier and I'm sorry for that. Being asleep for three years can have that affect on people…."

Tifa laughed and cut Sayuri off by saying, "Especially when paired with Reno!" Here the two women grinned, sharing a private joke in the form of what Tifa had overheard that morning. Sayuri smiled, but did not blush, which impressed Tifa greatly.

"Yes, especially when paired with Reno." Sayuri chuckled at the thought of the red-head, who was probably still out cold. She did blush, however, when her stomach gave an unceremoniously rumble. "Eh-heh…sorry: I haven't actually eaten in three years, unless you count liquid nutrition from an IV…." Sayuri grinned a bit sheepishly and was rewarded with laughter from Reeve and Tifa while the others couldn't help but chuckle at her.

"What would you like?" Sayuri blinked at Reeve, a bit confused, until it registered that he was offering to buy her breakfast. As soon as she realized what he meant, she began trying to make excuses and hastily tried to escape from her older friend. Reeve wouldn't take no for an answer, however, and all but forced her into a restaurant where he bought her all she could eat and a bit extra. Finally, at a quarter to ten, she managed to excuse herself from the others. Taking along the extra food with promises to finish it for lunch, she all but fled back to the inn.

The gentleman who ran the inn smiled and kindly gave her the spare key to the room he'd rented to Reno the previous night. Smiling, Sayuri promised to return the key later and went up to the room, softly humming a little tuneless melody as she went. She slipped into the room as quietly as she could and placed the leftovers on the small table by the door before pulling off her boots and trench coat. As she'd predicted, Reno was still asleep, in the bottom half of his uniform, atop the covers of the made bed.

Trying not to wake him, she slid onto the bed and snuggled up close to him. Rolling over, Reno made a sleepy sound similar to "Huh?" and opened his eyes to see who it was. He focused on her for a few seconds before smiling and wrapping his arm around her. Tenderly, he kissed her hair and breathed in the scent of her. "You smell good…" Clearly, he was still far from awake.

"Thank you…and good morning to you too." Smiling, she carefully tucked her head against his chest and under his chin. "There's breakfast if you want it, Reno…or we could just go back to sleep for a bit longer." The soft, steady rhythm of Reno's breathing told her that he had already fallen asleep again and she smiled as she pulled the quilt, which had been folded at the foot of the bed, up over them before letting herself drift towards sleep again.

--Three months later, on Zack's Bluff¹--

"It's been a long time…Zack." Sayuri whispered to no one in particular, as she stood alone by the long un-used Buster Sword that she knew all too well. The Buster Sword that had originally belonged to Angeal, then Zack, and had finally been entrusted to Cloud…it now stood watch over the place where Zack had lost his life to protect Cloud and all that he believed in. Sayuri smiled softly as the wind seemed to greet her and softly touch her cheek, like a long-lost friend after years of separation.

She could almost hear the ever-cheerful voice of Zack, with his usual greeting of, "Ready for that date yet, Yuri?" and smiled all the wider. Other than Reno, Zack had been the only one to ever call her 'Yuri'. With everyone else it was always "Alpha, Alpha, Alpha"…God, how she'd hated it. Reno and the other Turks were off doing god knew what for Rufus, so Sayuri had simply taken the opportunity to visit all that remained of Midgar and her history there. Having grown up in Midgar, the Shinra building more specifically, she could not deny that she was startled by what she found. And yet, she was not saddened by the ruins of Shinra either.

After she had been sitting beside the Buster Sword for nearly two hours in the early morning light, seemingly talking to herself, she decided that it was time to leave and explore more of Midgar's ruins and Edge; which had not existed when she'd last visited. "Well, I suppose I'd better get going, Zack…I'll come back again as soon as I can." Sayuri smiled and was not in the least surprised to hear the faintest whisper of a good-bye on the soft breeze.

After a long trek into Edge, Sayuri decided to simply observe for a while. She wasn't sure if Edge should be classified as a town or a city, really…nor did she truly care to worry over it. As she was walking, she somehow wound up in the old church: the one where flowers grew when nothing grew in Midgar. A soft smirk crossed her features: she remembered that she'd always loved this place, even before the flowers grew.

She liked the feel of the old building more than anything, but after the first flowers sprouted, she loved it all the more. In fact, Angeal had often scolded her when he'd find her there instead of wherever it was she was _**supposed**_ to be. She had always laughed and teased him by calling him 'Angel' instead of Angeal: she'd once told him he acted like he was her guardian and that had prompted Genesis to call him her 'Guardian Angel'…only the 'Angel' part stuck.

This in turn earned Genesis the role and title of "Alpha's Advocate", as he would often cover for her so she could sneak away. Sayuri began calling Genesis "Addy", much to his horror and Angeal's bemusement. Mind you, Sayuri had a nickname for the General as well…one that got Angeal and Genesis rolling every time they heard it: to Sephiroth's abundant displeasure and embarrassment. Luckily, Sephiroth took it all in stride and largely ignored them, saying that his fellow 1st class SOLDIERs were all completely certifiable.

"No…you like it! Just admit it Sephy!!" Had always been Sayuri prompt and playful reply to her half-brother's serious demeanor, though of course none of them had known about the blood-connection the General and Lieutenant General at that time. As the memories slipped away, Sayuri sighed: had there really been a time when Sephiroth alone had outranked her among all SOLDIERs? Yes, once upon a time she had been that damn good…but no more. She had long ago given up the traits that had made her the now long-lost Lieutenant General of SOLDIER. She had taken off her heartlessly vindictive mask and, psychologically speaking, broken it clean in half when she met Reno.

The cocky redhead had easily broken past all of her well-built defenses, including the one that caused her to reflexively nail the balls and/or gut of anyone who touched her without explicit permission. Poor, poor Reno: now that was a good memory indeed….

_**Sayuri stiffened as her new "co-workers" casually took seats beside her at her usual booth in the company bar: she had met Tseng and Cissnei once or twice and didn't mind them too much, while the tall bald one simply vexed her with his stoic personality. Now the redhead…he was downright obnoxious and far too cocky for his own good. She made a mental note to inform Tseng that pairing him with her would undoubtedly be a health hazard for anyone involved in it.**_

"_**Sayuri, you already know Cissnei, this is Rude" Tseng indicated the bald one, who nodded, "And this…this is Reno." She heard the slight annoyance in Tseng's voice and felt her own agitation grow as the one named Reno slid closer to her, having taken the empty spot in the circular booth nearest her. She glared at Tseng…pointedly promising to kill the redhead very soon with her eyes: Tseng just shrugged.**_

"_**It would seem that your superior has failed to inform you, SIR, that I prefer NOT to be in such close proximities to others." Her tone was clipped and to the point, but the redhead just gave her a mischievous chuckle and smirked. She had to admit that he was very good-looking, but she was losing her patience as he pressed his thigh fully to hers. As she felt a hand rub along her inner thigh, Sayuri dealt Reno a swift and concise blow to the groin.**_

"_**Motherfuc-!" Smiling with satisfaction, Sayuri stepped over Reno as he slid out of the booth and to the floor, clutching his balls in immense pain…all the while hissing barely intelligible profanities at her retreating form. The other Turks laughed heartily, some even saying that Reno had had that coming for years…and it was about damn time someone did it.**_

Reno did not forgive her for the better part of a year, but when he did he'd asked her to go dancing with him: by this time she was a far nicer person and had lost many of her 'menacing yet endearing habits' as Rude had affectionately called them before they'd parted a week ago. Only a month after Reno had asked her to go dancing, Sayuri had vanished without a trace. Rude told her that he'd holed up in his apartment for days, acting like "a man who's just lost everything he held dear". Sayuri could well imagine that he had, though the others couldn't understand why.

No one had known about it, but even though they acted hostile, she and Reno had been a couple for much of the time she'd been with the Turks…starting a year after she joined and lasting right up until seven months before Zack died, actually. Then she'd just vanished into thin air, right after he'd asked her to move in with him: yes, it had to have hit Reno hard…and below the belt, at that. Genesis and Angeal had long since been listed as dead by that time, and Sephiroth was suspected to have shared their fate. Since none of them could have abducted her, everyone looked at the next suspect….

All eyes turned on Hojo as her abductor, but Sayuri knew the truth: it had not been Hojo's doing. She had fled on her own; afraid to tell Reno a truth that she now wished she had but wasn't going to, even if it killed her: she had run because she'd gotten pregnant. As an added bonus, the child wasn't even Reno's…it was the result of Sayuri making a bet with Rufus and drinking FAR too much. This was the main reason that, though she and Rufus were civil to each other and he never knew about the pregnancy, the two of them didn't get along well at all when confined to small spaces together.

Sayuri had known that Reno had a reputation as a player even then and had feared he wouldn't want the child, especially since it couldn't be his. She had also had bad experiences with pregnancy before, courtesy of Hojo and a few others. So, being young, foolhardy, and impulsive, she'd fled as far away from any of the Turks as she could get before she had the child. The baby was born around the time Zack died, though Sayuri had only recently learned this. With her past as a SOLDIER, Sayuri left the child in the care of a very good friend in Kalm: she hadn't wanted to, but she still believed that she'd made the best choice available to her.

Unfortunately, she was too ashamed to go back to Midgar: the friend who had taken her child had vanished, as she had asked, and so she made a hard decision: she locked herself in Lucrecia's hidden lab in Gongaga. Then she had proceeded to force herself into suspended animation within one of the cryo-cells and it was there that Reno and Rude had found her a little over three months ago. Now she was starting the long process of trying to locate her friend and daughter, Adanna: she had held the baby once and bestowed her name before surrendering her to the care of her friend.

Sayuri was suddenly knocked to the ground, snapping her back to reality and out of her thoughts. She simply sat, dazed, for several minutes. Slowly, she realized that someone had opened the door to the church, which she had closed behind herself and unconsciously stood in front of the whole time, hitting her with said door. "Dipshit…standing in front of the fucking door." She whispered vehemently to herself before blinking as a hand appeared in front of her face.

"Want some help?" She looked up to find Cloud smiling kindly at her…she had not expected it to be him. Rather, she'd half been expecting it to be Genesis, come to find her again, or perhaps Sephiroth. Shaking her head to clear it of such idiocy, she took Cloud's proffered hand and stood whilst dusting herself off. It was only then that she noticed Tifa, with a young boy and girl in her wake. Sayuri smiled and waved at the trio before thanking Cloud for helping her up. "Come here often?" Cloud asked, obviously curious.

"Hmm…I used to: it was my favorite spot when I was with Shinra. I actually met Aerith here…" Sayuri stopped dead, realizing what she was saying and clamped a hand over her own mouth. "Well, you see…I came here even before the flowers, so it was really my place first…then when I was re-stationed to Junon Aerith to took over care of the flowers by herself…I used to help her: the flowers only wanted us to tend them." Now Sayuri was babbling and she knew it. Blushing profusely, she decided to just shut the fuck up before she made things worse. Cloud and Tifa were just staring at her, their expressions betraying nothing of their thoughts, which made her a bit nervous in truth.

She had been told all about Aerith and her connection to Cloud and the others by Vincent, whom she had made a private pact with: they would act like siblings, though the Turks and Rufus knew the truth as well as Vincent and Shelke, except in private settings. Both agreed that this was probably for the best, since Vincent still appeared to be no more than twenty-seven and she was, in all honesty, in her mid-thirties despite looking no more than twenty-two. She had also been subject to Hojo's experiments after all…and she did not age like normal people: she had reached the physical maturity of a sixteen-year-old only eight years after her birth and had ceased any physical aging for the next eight years. After her sixteenth birthday, however, she began aging once more…but she only aged one year for every two that passed.

And as she got older, her body was aging even more slowly, if at all. Mind you, Reno had barely changed since she'd last seen him but that was how he aged naturally. Besides, upon close inspection one would find a few tell-tale marks that Reno was indeed growing older. Sayuri shook her head and sighed, saying, "I'm sorry…I realize that I must seem very strange to you."

"Not at all!" Tifa was smiling as she addressed the female ex-SOLDIER, having come over to stand beside Cloud while the kids had wandered over to the flowers and a small pool that Sayuri realized had not been there before. "After all, we have Vincent to deal with all the time and nothing bothers him: that's strange! You're unique, maybe…but not strange." This earned them a smile from Sayuri and within fifteen minutes, they were idly chatting as they headed back to Tifa's Seventh Heaven. She had been introduced to Denzel, an orphan they had taken in, and Marlene, Barret's adopted daughter.

Sayuri found the children to be pleasant company, as they had each latched on to one of her hands. She smiled as she easily lifted both into the air and gently spun them around: she hadn't realized she still had the strength and balance to do that…it had been risky for her to even try it the way she just had. However, the fact that she COULD do it was very reassuring to her: apparently, she had lost none of her potency as a warrior whilst in suspended animation. The two youngsters found it all very fun until they got dizzy, whereas Sayuri quickly returned their feet to the ground.

She froze, her entire body going rigid, when a scent reached her that she knew all too well. Instinctively turning in the direction the aroma came from, she spotted the source: an innocent looking Banora apple that someone was holding out to her. Her eyes immediately traveled up the outstretched hand to the face of the one offering the apple…and Sayuri was hard pressed not to recoil from the proffered apple and its bearer when she saw who it was.

There stood Genesis, in full health and all his glory as an ex-SOLDIER 1st Class. ""The arrow has left the bow of the Goddess…" But will the arrow reach it's target, I wonder?" Sayuri made an almost inhuman whimper and did recoil then, only to find that it had been no more than an illusion…a hallucination, if one would call it such. She received puzzled and slightly frightened looks from Cloud, Tifa, and the kids; she mentally slapped herself and forced a cheery smile as they reached the bar. She was fairly certain none of them would understand, even if she took the time to explain in full detail.

--Two days later, outside Kalm--

After spending nearly two days at Tifa's Seventh Heaven, roaming around Midgar and Edge, Sayuri had departed for Kalm. She was certain that her friend, Leila Foxis, was no longer in the town, but perhaps someone knew where she had gone from there. Now, as night was closing in, Sayuri was beginning to think she wouldn't find anything in the quiet town. Kalm was still undergoing some re-construction from the attack by Deepground, a year previously, and not many people were keen to talk to a weirdly dressed woman who had already demonstrated abnormal strength and abilities.

Wearily, Sayuri came to an inn and waited patiently for the innkeeper to notice her. After a few minutes, the innkeeper greeted her and checked her into a 'single' room: one bed, one bath, one closet, and one window…one of everything. As she was preparing to head up to her room, Sayuri took a closer look at the woman and blinked in surprise before speaking. "Mrs. Foxis? Do you remember me? I'm Sayuri Crescent, a friend of Leila's."

The older woman stared at her for what seemed like an eternity before smiling broadly and hugging her. "Sayuri! Oh, goodness me but I barely recognized you with that tan of yours! How long are you going to be here in Kalm, dear?" Sayuri had to remind herself that this woman had always been like a mother to her, that she wasn't an enemy to be thrown off, and slowly returned the hug.

"Actually, I'm looking for Leila…do you think you could help me find her?" Sayuri had no way of knowing if Leila's mother-in-law knew where she had gone, but it certainly couldn't hurt to ask. She wasn't expecting the answer she received, not by any means.

"Oh, why Leila moved all the way to Wutai over two years ago. She was in Rocket Town before that…she left only three days after she took in that sweet little girl. Said her mother was a friend who needed her help…Sayuri, are you quite alright, dear?" Sayuri had paled nearly four shades of white even through the tan she'd earned in Junon. What Vincent had seen was no more than her body protesting to too much light too quickly: a nasty sunburn, in short. Shaking her head, she smiled at Mrs. Foxis, saying that she was fine.

She thanked the woman and gave her a real hug before she went up to her room. By the time the sun rose the next morning, however, she was long gone and already drawing close to Rocket Town. She smirked, knowing that Tseng was going to scold her for taking the liberty of "borrowing" one of the two remaining Shinra helicopters from Junon: the other was currently wherever it was that Rufus and the Turks were, which Sayuri strongly suspected to be the WRO headquarters.

Reno would laugh and joke about needing to increase security while Rude would shrug and say that only Sayuri could've pulled the stunt off anyway. Elena, who was still making passes at Reno whenever she thought Sayuri wasn't around and knew that Tseng was, would miss the joke entirely. Tseng and Rufus would just sigh and act annoyed when they really thought it was funny. Mind you, they would most definitely increase security as well, which would make it hard for her to get Adanna and the chopper back unnoticed….

So much for her plans of hiding her daughter until she was ready…oh well, mere complications compared to actually meeting her daughter for the first time. How on earth was a seven-year-old girl going to react when faced with a strange woman claiming to be her mother? Sayuri could only hope that Leila had found a way to explain it to Adanna. As she landed the helicopter on the only available space near the _Shera_ and _Highwind_, she wasn't in the least surprised to have none other than Cid came out in a fit of rage.

"What in Sam Hell da ya think yer doin'? Get offa my land ya crazy red-headed idiot!!" Sayuri laughed from within the one-way tainted windows: clearly, Reno had a habit of pissing Cid off. Still chuckling, she shut the helicopter's engine and rotors off before slowly opening the door and stepping out for Cid to see her. The foul-mouthed blond pilot gaped at her, obviously surprised that a Shinra helicopter was piloted by someone other than Reno for once.

"Sorry, Cid but I need to refuel: I'm on my way to Wutai for personal business. Think you can help me out? I'm willing to pay you for your time and the fuel." Cid could only nod, still confused but knowing better than to deny Sayuri a favor when she was willing to pay. Cid agreed, after they had negotiated a reasonable price, and proceeded to check the helicopter over while Sayuri made a call to Yuffie: if anyone could find Adanna in Wutai, it was the young kunoichi.

Sayuri was fully capable of maintaining the chopper herself, but it was more profitable for her to have Cid do it, leaving her with time to give Yuffie a description of what Leila and Adanna had looked like as well as how they might look now. She waited, trying to remain patient, until Yuffie finally answered her phone. She was much easier to bargain with than Cid: all Sayuri had to do was promise to give her a small sack of materia and the teenager all but jumped through the phone in her eagerness to help find Sephiroth if Sayuri wanted her to.

"Yuffie, calm down so I can tell you about the people I'm looking for!" Sayuri all but had to yell into the phone, causing Cid to raise a curious brow: he wisely remained quiet, however. After Yuffie had calmed herself, Sayuri began describing Leila and Adanna. "Leila's last name is Foxis, she about twenty-eight, has black hair and blue eyes. She's my height and last time I saw her she was just married to a man named Quinton Foxis: he's got dark dirty-blond hair and brown eyes and he's about Vincent's height with Rude's build. They have a little girl with them: Adanna. She's got blond hair and blue eyes, and her seventh birthday is next week, on July 23rd. I don't know if they have any other kids, but they might."

Sayuri could practically hear the wheels turning in Yuffie's head as the girl thought about what she'd been told. Finally, Yuffie spoke, obviously choosing her words carefully. "I know those people…they're my neighbors!" Sayuri's heart skipped several beats. "Do you want me to tell them you're looking for them?" Sayuri hesitated for several minutes, but finally told Yuffie that she needed to tell Leila that she was coming. Yuffie said she'd do it and the call ended.

By this time, Cid had finished with the chopper and had given it the all clear for a flight to Wutai. He had even stored enough extra fuel in spare tanks, which he'd secured inside the cabin, for the return flight to Junon, since he assumed that was where she'd be headed after Wutai. Sayuri thanked Cid and paid him, just as she'd promised. She was gone within an hour and was touching down on the helicopter pad at Turtle Paradise by nightfall. Yuffie was waiting for her when Sayuri exited the inn, thanking the owner many times over for allowing her to use his heli-pad for the night. Sayuri was still extremely apprehensive about meeting Adanna for the first time: Adanna probably had no memories of her at all, since she'd been no more then a day old the last time she'd held her.

Once they reached Leila and Quinton's house, Yuffie left Sayuri to fend for herself. Digging into the depths of her inner resolve, Sayuri gingerly reached out a hand, hesitated, and then boldly knocked. She waited, listening to the footsteps as someone came to answer the door: it was Leila. Her friend just smiled and motioned for her to come in. Nervous and a bit skittish, Sayuri did as her friend wordlessly ordered. She was rooted to the spot when her gaze fell upon three young children playing in the living room: two boys and a girl.

The boys were identical, save one had brown hair and the other black, while the girl could only be her Adanna: she had wavy blond hair that fell to her ribcage and fathomless blue eyes, exactly like Rufus'. All three children looked up to see the visitor and Sayuri vaguely registered Quinton sitting on the floor nearby as Adanna leapt up and ran to her. Sayuri felt her knees fold and meet the floor, but there was no physical sensation; only a mental realization that she was kneeling to catch her daughter in a hug.

"Mommy!" The girl had a soft and innocent voice, like many little girls. Unable to do anything else, Sayuri held her daughter close against her and half-laughed, half-cried as Adanna wrapped her arms around her neck possessively. "I just knew you were gonna come! Auntie Leila and Uncle Quinny always said you would! They even gave me this picture so I would be able to recognize you!" Adanna showed her a picture, one that had been taken by Cissnei, of her and Reno, with Rufus, Tseng, and Rude, at a nightclub. They'd been assigned to keep an eye on Rufus that night as a "special mission" and had all proceeded to get tipsy if not drunk outright: by the end of the night, she and Tseng had been the only sober ones.

--Two days later, WRO HQ--

Reno simply ignored the glares he got as his phone went off during a meeting between Rufus, with the Turks, and Reeve. He stood and walked outside to see who was calling him at nearly ten o'clock at night: he felt a miniscule ache in his chest as he failed to recognize the number beyond originating from Edge and sighed as he decided to answer. He suspected that it was probably Tifa anyways. "Yo." Was all the red-head said as a greeting to whoever was calling.

""Yo" yourself, Reno." Came a playful sounding voice that he not only recognized, but was thrilled to hear. Smiling broadly, he waited for Sayuri to continue. "How've you been? Sorry about not keeping in touch: I didn't have a phone until yesterday when I got back to Edge. I'm back in Junon now, seeing as I figured Rufus would be ticked if I nicked the other chopper and didn't bring it back. So I brought it back: where are you guys anyways? Never mind, I'll find out later. Right now I have to tell you about something very important and her name is Adanna."

* * *

¹Zack's Bluff - Anyone who has ever played FFVII should know what I mean by this, but in case some readers don't: since the cliff-type thing where Zack died has no real name and it is marked by the Buster Sword in Advent Children, I call it Zack's Bluff. In AC, Cloud is actually seen putting the Buster Sword back up after Kadaj kicks it to the ground - the sword marks the place where Zack lost his life. No mention is made throughout FFVII of the connection between Zack and the Turks, but in Crisis Core Zack gets to know Tseng(he even gets sent to Banora with him) and Cissnei, a female Turk who is exclusive to Before Crisis & Crisis Core. This also leads Zack to have interactions with Reno and Rude. Therefore, he would also meet(in my fic only, of course) Sayuri by default once she 'retires' from SOLDIER and becomes a Turk. I won't say they were best friends in my fic, just that they knew and respected each other as SOLDIERs: hence Sayuri goes to pay respects at the place where Zack died.

Author's Note: Can't remember if I put it in here anywhere…this story takes place a year after the end of Dirge of Cerberus. And since nobody knows(except the creators, who aren't telling --;; ) how old Reno and the other Turks were in FFVII(not for sure anyway), I have opted to make Reno 26, Elena about Sayuri's apparent physical age(22), Rude/Tseng 30ish, and Rufus about Reno's age give or take a few years.

Also, I am not meaning to offend anyone by using "God" or any profanities involving, but not limited to: God damn it, Jesus Christ(or the alternate - Jesus fucking Christ), or anything similar…this means **please don't take it wrong and if it does offend you, then sorry**. If it bothers you too much, then you can always stop reading.

On a separate note, FALS will be put on hold after this chapter: the reason is simple. I will not force myself to write something when my mind wants to write something else. Anyone who has ever written anything understands this: if your heart isn't in it, the result is crap compared to something you enjoyed writing. Right now, my heart and soul is absorbed in writing my Naruto fics: however, I will not be posting KMB, even if I work on it, for some time. I will be posting L&L exclusively since it has the fewest chapters posted/completed at ONE. And yes, I said ONE so I meant ONE.


	6. The Lt General

_**--Fallen Angels & Lost SOLDIERs, Chapter 6: Lt. General--**_

It had been nearly two months since Sayuri had found and reclaimed Adanna, her seven-year-old daughter, and she still had only told Reno and Reeve about the girl: she had not allowed any of the others to meet Adanna and had made certain not to mention the child to any of them. She did not feel like raising any suspicions or dealing with unwanted questions until Adanna had become entirely accustomed to her new life with her mother, which involved sporadic and various levels of exposure to Reno and all of his habits. Adanna was horribly hyper around Reno; Sayuri suspected that the girl had taken it upon herself to appoint Reno as her father-figure, whether Reno wanted the position or not. Yet, Adanna was still bashful and seemed to be almost fearful of the red-headed Turk: every time Reno came around, the girl would hide until Sayuri coaxed her out of her room. By the same token, once Adanna came out, she firmly attached herself to Reno and would follow him like a puppy, watching his every move and even imitating him occasionally.

As luck seemed to have it, Reno liked Adanna and though he wasn't very experienced with children, he did know a few things that thrilled the girl to no end. One example was his piloting skills: Adanna had gotten to take a short flight in the chopper with Reno and her mother from Junon to the WRO headquarters. Sayuri had taken a position there, as Reeve's main intelligence agent, partnered with Cait-Sith, and was also the WRO's new weapons and materia specialist. Therefore, she had been given private living quarters within the main building. She had been given free range to pick any of the buildings' unoccupied living quarters and had chosen to take over a section of the very bottom floor: the same floor that was nearly one hundred meters underground and nigh impregnable. It was on this floor that Reeve had taken up residence himself. This made it an ideal choice in Sayuri's mind when taking into consideration the protection of her seven-year-old and the recent attacks that had been staged on the WRO by Deepground. Now that she was truly a part of Adanna's life, and she hers, Sayuri wasn't about to risk either of them losing the other. As she was thinking about these things, Sayuri was busy cooking lunch for Adanna, who had not yet woken up from her nap on Reno's chest.

The two of them had been watching some cartoon that Adanna adored and the little girl had promptly fallen asleep halfway through it. Not having the heart to move the drowsing child, Reno had shrugged and joined her in a nap. When Sayuri had come in from a short meeting upstairs to discuss the possible production of materia for some of the more skilled members of the WRO, she had found the two of them fast asleep on the couch. Adanna was curled up on Reno's chest and torso, her head snuggled under his chin, and he had draped one arm around her to keep her from falling off of the couch. Smiling at how cute they were, Sayuri gently covered them with a light blanket and went about making preparations for lunch. Now, with lunch nearly done, she cursed under her breath when her phone rang; she had her hands full and consequently had to juggle to answer it.

"Alpha." Was all she said, since she was trying not to drop an armful of dishes that she was angling to get into the sink.

"Sayuri, I feel inclined to warn you that the Turks are currently headed for your quarters: they're looking for Reno. Apparently, he hasn't been answering his phone for the past day and a half. Naturally, Rufus is a bit upset about it." Reeve had a slightly amused undertone in his voice as he spoke. This gave the impression that he found this all quite funny, making Sayuri slightly cross. "On top of that, Cloud just called. He said that Vincent has something he needs to speak with you about. So, Cloud is coming with Tifa and the kids, Vincent, Barret, and Cid on his airship. All we're missing now is the rest of AVALANCHE and we'll have a full reunion by tomorrow evening." Sayuri mentally cursed Reeve's timing as she succeeded in depositing the dishes into the empty sink, making a fair bit of noise in the process. Freezing to listen for any signs of having disturbed Reno or Adanna, Sayuri breathed a sigh of relief when none came. The relief was extremely short-lived, however.

"Thanks for the warning Reeve!" Sayuri snapped crossly as a knock sounded on her door. "What'd you do, wait until they were a floor above me to call?"

"You're welcome." Reeve chuckled as Sayuri hung up and tossed the phone back onto the kitchen table. As she passed by the couch on her way to the door, she was caught by her pant leg and she turned to spy a playfully grinning Reno.

"You could always ignore them, yo." Came the sleep-edged answer to her raised eyebrow and annoyed expression.

"It's Rude." Her tone was one that was both amused and annoyed as she imparted a warning towards the red-head. Both of them knew that Rude was perfectly capable of breaking down the heavy duty, iridium re-enforced tungsten door: though there were two separate doors, a normal one that was currently the only one in use, and the tungsten one. Sayuri enjoyed the fact that she could use both of them separately. Reno, however, was apparently misinterpreting her meaning: he seemed to think she meant that it would be bad manners to ignore the visitors, not that she was referring to Rude, the tall and stoic Turk.

"So? Whoever it is will get over it; it's not like people aren't rude all the time." Reno yawned as he slowly and carefully repositioned himself without waking Adanna.

"No, Reno. I mean that it's Rude, your partner. You know, tall, bald, and never says more than twelve sentences per month…" Smiling as comprehension dawned in the red-head's startled face, Sayuri left him to splutter on about why she didn't say so the first time and went to open the door. After all, she would have to let Rude meet Adanna sooner or later: there were no secrets between Reno and Rude, and Adanna would be no exception. Rude would be told what Reno had told her: "She may not be mine by blood, but I'll gladly claim her if her real father won't." Tseng and Elena would simply be told that Reno was Adanna's father, since that was what Reno intended to tell them anyway. Sayuri knew that Reno had taken a strong liking to her daughter and was happy to let the little girl call him 'Daddy': over the past few weeks, Adanna had begun to run to the door whenever Reno arrived, calling out, "Daddy's home!" Reno would laugh and ruffle the child's long blond hair affectionately, with a reply of, "Sure I am! Did you think I wouldn't come back for the fair princess and beautiful queen?"

Sayuri would playfully punch him and instruct her two troublemakers to go clean up, since Reno almost always arrived just before a meal. Now his co-workers were doing the same; Sayuri sighed in exasperation at the odd irony of this surprise visit. As she opened the door, she heard Reno shifting as he rose from the couch, probably carrying Adanna judging from the sound of the way the floor shifted slightly. As soon as she opened the door, she was face to face with Elena and her mood instantly soured. She slammed the door back into the annoying girl's face and shouted through it, "Rude, you and Tseng can come in but leave the puppy outside. It isn't well trained and I just finished cooking lunch: I don't want it begging for things that don't belong to it." Reno whistled from the living room at how nasty Sayuri was being towards Elena but he really didn't blame her. Elena could be extremely annoying, so much so that she bordered on being physically painful, actually. The door opened and Rude came in with a small smirk on his face, Tseng right behind him, while Elena was trying to figure out if what Sayuri had just said equaled out to an insult.

Elena came in behind Tseng but Sayuri chose to ignore the younger blond woman's dagger-like glare as she figured out the insult and returned her attention to Reno as she entered the living room. Her expression instantly softened: Adanna had woken up and Reno was holding her in his arms while she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, telling her what Mommy had made for lunch. "She made some of your favorites: tomato sandwiches with some milk to drink and some sweet rolls for afterwards. You know the ones that she fries like doughnuts and then sprinkles sugar on top?" Adanna's face lit up at the mention of her favorite dessert, but fell again as she seemed to think of something.

"I have to eat all my sandwich first, don't I Daddy?" She asked with a solemn and serious face, earning a smile from Reno as he nodded. "If I finish my sandwich and drink all my milk, then I get two sweet rolls. That's only fair, isn't it Mommy?" :_My child has inherited entirely too much of mine and her father's brains…_: Sayuri thought wryly.

"Only if you finish ALL of your sandwich and your milk; Daddy can't share any of your lunch or its cheating and that is a bad habit, right Reno?" The look she pinned him with told him that she knew he had a habit of cheating his way out of things and that she didn't want Adanna to pick it up.

"That's right; cheating **is** a bad habit. Okay, Adanna; time to go wash up with Mommy. I'll be waiting in the kitchen when you come back." Reno gently set the girl on the floor and Adanna scampered off towards the bathroom, running right past Rude, Tseng, and Elena. Sayuri followed at a far more sedate pace than her offspring, pausing to give all of them a slightly menacing look before vanishing down a hallway. "Now…" Reno's voice snapped all of their attention back to him. "What are you guys doing here? I told Rufus I was taking a two-week vacation and it hasn't even been two days. Rude, you knew where I was going, man…why bother me now, yo?"

"Reno, Rufus has recently had something brought to his attention. There are rumors that he has a young child somewhere in Wutai: if this is true, then this child is the next heir to the Shinra Company and we have to find the child as soon as possible." Tseng wasted no time on niceties or formalities; he simply got right to the point. Reno forced himself not to react and instead schooled his eyes and expression into pure unconcern.

"So? You're telling me that the three of you aren't good enough to find one kid? That you HAVE to have my help to find this brat? Do you even know if it really is more than a rumor, cause we all know lots of people want Rufus dead and even more think he IS dead. Who's to say that this isn't a hoax or a trap? How old is this 'kid'? Do we know what gender it is or what it looks like? I'm gonna guess not." Reno didn't want them to figure out who Adanna looked like, because even someone who had never seen Sayuri could tell she wasn't his, what with that blond hair. Her blue eyes might have been attributed to him, if it weren't for an utter lack of anyone with blond hair in either his or Sayuri's families. But then, sometimes that happened: no history of blond hair in a family for as far back as anyone knew and yet a kid would be born with blond hair. He only hoped they wouldn't ask.

"No, we don't know if this is more than just a rumor or anything else that you said. However, Rufus is the one that pays us and he wants us to go. That means we go, Reno, no questions asked and you know it." Tseng's response was nearly acidic and he was glaring at his red-headed co-worker with an unusual amount of vehemence. As if on cue, Sayuri reappeared with Adanna and the girl ran over to grab Reno's hand and pull him towards the kitchen.

"Hurry, Daddy, or it'll get yucky!" Adanna was irrepressible and Reno couldn't help but smile as he let her lead him into the kitchen. Sayuri did not follow them immediately, hanging behind to address the other Turks instead.

"I suppose that all of you have put two and two together and realized that Adanna is my daughter." They all gave her some form of affirmation, verbal or otherwise. "Good, then that makes all of this easier. Reno took vacation so he could get to know Adanna: she is our daughter, but he never knew about her and now he wants to make up for lost time." Sayuri wasn't really lying...she just wasn't telling them the entire truth. "When I had her, I left her with a friend in Kalm because I was scared that Reno wouldn't want her. After that, I was sealed in the cryo-chamber and two months ago I went looking for that friend. I found her over on the West Continent, where she and her husband have twin boys a year younger than Adanna. My friend had raised her as her niece and gave her a picture of all of us from that time we had to escort Rufus to the club. Tseng, you and I were the only ones sober by the time we went home so you'll remember even if Rude doesn't."

"I remember…" Came from both men and Sayuri laughed at them.

"Good; well Adanna has been raised knowing what both of us look like and constantly being told that we would come for her one day, but that they didn't know precisely when that would be. She's only seven years old as it is: a little under eight, really…" Her eyes spoke of the threat that her words did not: if they hurt her daughter, they would not live long to reflect on it. Rude and Tseng had always known how fiercely protective Sayuri was of those she loved; Reno and Adanna were clearly no exception to the rule. Sayuri shrugged and motioned for them to follow her into the kitchen. "Come on you lot; you're lucky I made more than enough for my two bottomless pits today. I actually think I have enough to feed all of us and then some…" All of them smiled as they entered the large dining room to find Reno keeping a careful hold on Adanna's milk glass while the girl took a long sip from it.

"There we go; y'know this stuff makes your bones stronger?" Big blue eyes met with Reno's amused ones and he nodded seriously. "It's true! If you drink lots of milk then your bones grow big and strong and you'll be able to beat up the kids that pick on you!"

"Eh-hem…" Sayuri raised an eyebrow at Reno and he ducked his head, laughing.

"Or you can always talk to a grown-up and have it stopped without fighting, like good people do. You knew your mommy was a Turk, right? Well, she never got in a fight unless absolutely necessary, because she doesn't like hurting people." Reno continued to awe his adopted daughter with his small and mildly fibbing story while Sayuri made plates for the other three Turks and herself. Adanna was absently munching away on her sandwich and it was gone before the girl realized it: Sayuri had to admit that Reno knew how to get her to eat everything on her plate without her noticing it. Before the girl could register that her plate was empty, Sayuri whisked it away and replaced it with a small saucer bearing the child's much beloved dessert. As Adanna squealed with pleasure and thanked her mother, Reno dug into his own plate and was soon gifted with the same reward when he effectively cleaned his as well.

Sayuri smiled as she watched the group interact but quietly rose and left, taking the dishes with her, when she sensed someone approaching. She knew the presence and was not at all surprised to find Vincent waiting for her in the kitchen. She smiled softly when she saw her father and continued towards the sink to put the dishes in to soak. She silently offered to make him something but he shook his head to decline the offer. Sayuri sighed, knowing why it was that he had come and was not surprised in the least: he had been the one to battle Weiss and Omega after all. It only made sense that he would want to know more about 'G', the one whose cells the Tsviets had been infused with.

"I suppose…that you wish to know about Project G: or more specifically, about the man known only as 'G'. Well, his name is Genesis Rhapsodos and he was SOLDIER 1st Class…once upon a time, not so very long ago actually. He came from the same project as Angeal Hewley, and though of a different class, was part of the same process that launched Project S and eventually resulted in Sephiroth's birth." Sayuri had taken a seat at the table, idly twirling a strand of her wavy reddish-black hair on one finger. It was an obvious sign of how nervous and depressed she was, but Vincent had not known her long enough to recognize the dangerous territory he was entering. He got a crystal clear sign, however, with Sayuri's next sentence. "Very well; I will tell you that which this Alpha knows about one Genesis Rhapsodos. He was bred by scientists at Shinra, whether he was born of a real mother or not has never been divulged. He was given to a couple under the power and control of Shinra and taken to be raised in Banora. Gillian Hewley, the mother of Angeal, is suspected to have supplied the ovum with which Genesis was conceived but again, this is unconfirmed information."

"So these men, Genesis and Angeal, may have been brothers?" Vincent asked quietly, afraid of his daughter's answer.

"As this Alpha stated Vincent Valentine; that information has been neither confirmed nor denied…it simply is. We know that Angeal Hewley was Dr. Gillian Hewley's biological child and that she allowed for her unborn child to be subjected to experiments and tests in attempts to create an Ancient from genetic engineering. Genesis was the same and seen as a complete failure while Angeal was at least seen as a successful attempt, if not a perfect success. You know most of the story behind Sephiroth, more so than most this Alpha would wager, and so I do not need to elaborate on that topic. Genesis and Angeal grew up together in Banora with Genesis raised as the son of the Banora landlord and Angeal as a normal resident." Her eyes flashed golden as she narrowed them at a spot on the wall behind Vincent, seemingly ignoring his presence. "They were the best of friends and once they became SOLDIERs, soon that bond came to include Sephiroth and this Alpha. Despite Genesis's rivalry and resentment towards Sephiroth, he still saw Genesis as a friend. I admit that at first I was fond of Genesis…one might even say that I was attracted to him." Vincent was obviously surprised by her sudden change in tone and tact, but he was also curious.

"Nevertheless, we were and still are SOLDIERs: personal relationships between SOLDIER operatives generally do not end well. As a result, I ignored him and my own attraction in favor of Sephiroth. My orders were clear and concise: I was not to belong to any man except for Sephiroth and if he would not have me or I him, then I would belong to no man. Angeal was always the serious one and told me not to worry about it, but Genesis never forgave Sephiroth or I for what happened. During a simulation battle between the three, Genesis attacked Sephiroth full-on and was wounded: it was superficial and should have healed fairly quickly. It did not. His condition began to rapidly worsen and he was in need of regular blood transfusions to keep him from degenerating. Sephiroth offered to give him a transfusion, since it was he that had injured him. He was denied, however, because his blood was incompatible being from Project S. I was also denied from doing this, though for a much different reason: my blood was exceptionally compatible with Genesis, but if I gave him my blood then he would become unstable and possibly too strong to be handled."

"Yuri?" Vincent and Sayuri both snapped their attention to Reno, who stood in the door to the kitchen, leaning against the doorframe. Sayuri seemed to come back to herself and gasped at how late it was: she and Vincent had been talking for nearly three hours without either of them noticing. "Tseng and Elena have gone; I let Rude take the spare bedroom since he has other things to talk to me about. Adanna fell asleep about an hour and a half ago: all the excitement wore her out I think…" He let his blue gaze drift back and forth between the two Valentines, marveling at how similar father and daughter were. They had never known each other and yet they dressed alike, looked alike, thought alike, and even acted alike. Not caring if Vincent became protective or whatever, Reno casually entered the room and pulled a chair next to Sayuri before straddling it. He saw the lingering emotions in her eyes, which were still sparsely flecked with gold and sighed.

"You have got to stop thinking about what happened as your fault, yo." Reno said, seeming to read Sayuri's mind as her thoughts lingered on Genesis and Sephiroth. "Genesis was whack to start with and well…Sephiroth was bound to crack, learning the truth the way he did and after everything he had been raised to believe was revealed as lies. That doesn't means that it was your fault, just that they were fools for taking it out on you. C'mon babe, you and I both know you didn't ask to have a piece of Jenova's heart stuck in you. That has Hojo written all over it! Just like him infusing the Alpha WEAPON into your body: it was the same with Omega and Weiss…and I'll bet that Vincent understands that better than anyone, don't cha Vince?" Vincent nodded at Reno's words but Sayuri did not seem to have heard him. Her eyes had become distant and the light appeared to have faded right out of them: she was lost in her memory and heedless of the present.

"_**All right you pussies: stand up straight and smile, because here comes the Lieutenant General! Lt. General Valentine hates tardiness, poor hygiene, and ignorance so I suggest you all remember that! The Lt. General is a hard-ass motherfucker and will not tolerate ANY usurpation in the ranks." One of the SOLDIER 2nd Classes was telling the newest band of SOLDIER hopefuls what to expect of their examiner, pacing before the nervous youths. Sayuri stood to one side, among them, and smiled to herself: this batch was going to be so very easy…**_

"_**You do your job and do it well or the Lt. General will have you out of SOLDIER in less time than it takes you to blink, be it by one method or another. Pray you do not get the Lt. General on a bad day, or you just might be killed for sport. Also, if you so much as annoy the Lt. General and the General hears of it, you may as well kiss your ass good-bye because General Sephiroth will kill you for your insolence!" Now the 2nd Class smiled and stopped, turning to face the group of thirty -plus one SOLDIER 1st Class- as a whole. "Of course, all of this applies only if you pass this exam. You have passed the physicals, the training, and all of the other requirements but this…THIS is the final and most important one. Today you hopefuls will fight a real, seasoned, and well-trained SOLDIER. This is the real deal kiddies, so please try not to shit yourselves. The General and the other 1st Classes are watching you, but you can't see them. They will rate your performance and your potential before placing you in a rank or dismissing you from the program to try again another day."**_

_**All of the hopefuls shuffled uneasily and Sayuri smiled again, wider this time, before a loud gunshot signaled that it was time for her to start. Without warning, she reached out and grabbed the nearest hopeful from behind, her arms up under his and her hands grasping either side of his face. She easily hefted the larger male into the air, bending over backwards at an impossible angle as she slammed him headfirst into the ground. Standing up and dusting her hands off, she addressed the group. "Always be vigilant: enemies can be anyone, anywhere, anytime. He has failed because he was not prepared: those of you who were near to him noticed my mako eyes and knew I was there, getting out of the way when the gun was fired. This has allowed the remaining twenty-nine hopefuls the chance to fight me one-on-one with a warning about my skills. Nice job, newbies…for now, that is." Her eyes glowed with mako and mischief as she continued. "The twenty-nine of you remaining will be selected randomly and called to meet me over there-" She pointed to the simulation room and chuckled at the worry on their faces. "Where we will fight and you will either fail or be allotted a rank. I look forward to seeing each of you in combat."**_

_**Sayuri walked into the simulation room and patiently restrained her strength as hopeful after hopeful came and went. Out of the fifteen she had already beaten, only one had been promising: a youth by the name of Zack Fair, from Gongaga. Young Zack now stood inside the observation room with Lazard and Angeal as they watched Sayuri effortlessly beat the remaining fourteen hopefuls. Some of the others did become SOLDIERs, but Zack was to be the highest ranking out of them and since he held the most promise, was the only one to get to meet Sayuri, Angeal, and Lazard afterwards.**_

"_**It's a real pity that none of them, not even this kid here, could give her a good warm-up." Lazard said with a frustrated sigh, indicating Zack, who winched slightly as he was reminded of how thoroughly Sayuri had beaten him even though he had given it his all and had landed a couple of hard attacks on the female SOLDIER. All of his attacks seemed to glance right off of her, though…**_

"_**That's true Lazard, but you and I both know that she has a talent for picking out the most promising ones. If she says that he is the only one worthy of being trained by one of us, then that is what he is. Now, which of us are you going to saddle with him?" Angeal asked in a friendly and joking manner of the Director.**_

"_**He goes with you Angel." Sayuri chuckled as she entered the observation room to look over Zack again. "Look at him: he reminds me of you at that age but a little less refined in discipline! I think he can benefit from you the most; besides which, Genesis won't take anyone under his wing and neither will Sephiroth. As for me, I cannot take him because of my position as Lt. General and because I am a woman, remember? Females can only take females and males can only take males, etc., etc., etc." Sayuri waved her hand as she finished her ramble about how stupid the rules were, making all three men chuckle and laugh at her.**_

Sayuri never felt it as her body collapsed and she passed out, her mind continuing to travel down a corridor of memories that she had long ago locked away, distancing herself from the woman she used to be. She had always been mischievous and playful towards Angeal, Sephiroth, Genesis, and later Zack. However, that was only a small piece of who she had been during the years before she met Reno. As she crumpled in on herself, Reno quickly caught her and lifted her into his arms.

"On that note, I believe that your conversation is over for the night Vince." Reno said as he carefully readjusted Sayuri against his shoulder, cradling her in much the same way he did Adanna. Vincent could easily recognize Reno's feelings for Sayuri: they were the same as his feelings for Lucrecia. "We have another spare bedroom, ya know…you're welcome to it, if you like." The ex-Turk looked at the red-headed Turk with mild surprise, though it was well hidden, and smiled as he nodded in acceptance of the offer. After all, he had never met his granddaughter who was to grow up thinking of him as an uncle.


	7. Conversations & Revelations

**_--Fallen Angels & Lost SOLDIERs, Chapter 7: Conversations & Revelations--_**

Reno and Rude sat in the kitchen of Sayuri's living quarters, companionably drinking their coffee in silence in the early hours of the morning: it was going on nine and Adanna had somehow won over Reeve, gaining the privilege of sitting in the WRO Commissioner's office while he worked. Vincent had not yet emerged from the spare bedroom he had taken over and Sayuri was so deeply asleep that Reno had finally given up when everything short of slapping her or dunking her in an ice-cold bath failed to wake the ex-SOLDIER turned Turk. Rude had assured him that Sayuri would get up when she was ready and that he needn't worry about her; Reno knew he was right, but for some reason he was still a bit concerned about Sayuri…and he didn't know why, which vexed him. Glaring into his black coffee, Reno twitched slightly when he heard the sounds of someone emerging from their bedroom but was disappointed when Vincent entered the kitchen. The unusual ex-Turk was dressed as he always was and habitually quiet when he calmly made himself some coffee and took a seat.

"Yo, I'm gonna go check on her." Reno said as he rose from the table, heading for his and Sayuri's room. Rude nodded that he had heard him while Vincent made no indication that he had or even cared that Reno was leaving: apparently, he was not the best of morning people. Hell, Reno was only up because Adanna had come in wanting breakfast and Sayuri didn't so much as budge at her daughter's proddings and pullings. So, Reno had dragged his lazy ass out of bed to make the girl some breakfast: Adanna had been thrilled when Reno produced chocolate chip pancakes and bacon with milk and orange juice. It was not that Reno didn't know how to cook…rather it was that he preferred not to let others know that he knew how. The reason for this was simple: if people knew what you were truly capable of, then they expected no less from you. Reno didn't like it when people ordered him to do things he didn't want to do, so he avoided the situations by acting like he didn't know how to do those things.

Sighing and then yawning a bit, Reno slipped into the bedroom and snuck over to the bed. Sayuri still appeared to be asleep, but now she was trembling and as he got closer, she cried out and promptly tossed so forcefully that she fell right out of bed. Reno instantly knelt down to help, hiding a slight snicker, and stopped when he saw the terrified look in Sayuri's eyes. He reached out to touch her cheek and she violently pulled away with a distressed sound similar to 'don't'. Without thinking of the consequences to his person, Reno gently but firmly pulled Sayuri into an embrace. Her entire body tensed and she fought to get free, but she slowly began to calm down after a few minutes. Soon, she had calmed down completely and went still in his arms as she leaned against his chest and shoulder. He continued to hold her, gently rocking back and forth, as she began to silently cry. After ten minutes or so, he heard her whisper that she was sorry.

"Nah, its all good, babe… You just had a nightmare or something. And that ain't nothing to be ashamed of, yo." Reno smiled as she looked up at him, surprise etched on her fine features and mirrored in her liquid green eyes. She was no longer crying, but a few stray tears still slipped down her cheeks and Reno smiled as he rubbed them away with his thumbs. "You've probably seen more fucked up shit than all of us Turks combined. If that ain't cause for nightmares then I'd hate to think what kinda shit is. Now c'mon, I made breakfast."

"You…as in Reno of the Turks…you made breakfast and it's edible? This is something I have to see." Sayuri joked, weakly smiling as she teased her lover about the fact that whenever he cooked for the Turks, he purposely burnt it or messed it up to avoid having to do it. Finally, they had stopped asking and Cissnei had been given the job along with Sayuri herself and now Rude did most of the cooking when necessary. As they entered the kitchen, Reno immediately began to make her a plate while she sat at the table between Vincent and Rude. She was completely at ease, despite being clothed in naught but a pair of boy shorts and one of Reno's shirts in the presence of Vincent. Said man raised an eyebrow but said nothing, choosing to keep his thoughts to himself when it came to her choice of attire. Reno chuckled when, as soon as he set her plate in front of her, Sayuri was all but inhaling it: she was an excellent cook herself, but for some reason she loved Reno's cooking more than her own. When everyone had finished eating or drinking their first and second -third in the case of Rude and fourth for Reno- cups of coffee, Sayuri turned to Vincent.

"I suppose you want to hear the rest of what I know about Genesis." Vincent nodded and Sayuri shook her head in mild amusement and exasperation. "Very well, where was I?"

"I think you were telling him about how Genesis was injured and began to degenerate." Reno supplied helpfully as he and Rude rose to go into the living room. "We'll be back in a bit; have to go find Tseng and find out when we leave on that ridiculous mission." Sayuri nodded and smiled as the two Turks left before turning her whole attention to telling Vincent the rest of the information she had about Genesis.

"Yes, I remember now. I was saying how Genesis needed a blood transfusion and neither Sephiroth nor I could provide it for explicit reasons. Well, in the end Angeal gave his blood to Genesis but the degeneration didn't cease and Dr. Hollander took over the 'research' to try and reverse it or at least stop it from progressing. Genesis was not even thirty, but soon his hair began to turn silver like Sephiroth's where it had always been a beautiful shade of auburn. I watched him degenerate and I was filled with grief, because I counted him as a friend and a comrade. After some time, Genesis was sent to Wutai and went missing. Angeal, Sephiroth, Zack, and I were also sent in pairs: Angeal with Zack and I with Sephiroth. Angeal and Zack were told that Genesis was suspected of having turned against Shinra, which was not entirely untrue. All of us were told to either capture him or kill him if he could not be captured. Somewhere along the way, all of us got separated from each other and, though I was technically listed as 'inactive', I ended up running smack into Genesis. While the others were completing the mission of taking over the Wutai fortress, I was fighting with Genesis and it was then that he revealed a very important fact that he'd learned about me. He told me that Hojo had implanted a part of Jenova's heart into my chest, right beside and connected to my own, along with the Alpha WEAPON." Vincent's eyes snapped to meet her own and she could easily read his thoughts given his expression.

"Oh, yes…as long as I am living and possess that piece of Jenova, then Sephiroth can also return through another remnant like Kadaj. I did my research: I threatened it out of Rufus, really, but that is still research in my book. I'm willing to bet that Hojo is still around somewhere, since he came back through Weiss once already. Hollander had a machine that could create near-precise copies of Genesis as well as mutated ones. He also made some copies of Angeal, though never like the ones he made of Genesis. Those ones were mistaken for the real Genesis several times, because they looked and fought exactly like him. There was one crucial difference though: none of the copies ever spoke so much as a single word while Genesis was always quoting "Loveless". That was the trick that those of us who knew him used to tell the copies from the original. Soon, Genesis fell in with Hollander and the two were listed as 'KIA'. Little did any of us know that Lazard, the Director of SOLDIER, was also in on it."

"Hollander…I have heard that name before." Vincent said quietly.

"Oh, I'm sure you have. He worked on Project G, short for "Gillian" with Dr. Gillian Hewley, Angeal's mother, as the main test subject: the project later produced Angeal and Genesis. Hojo often thought him to be a mere second rate scientist and Hollander was always angry that Hojo beat him for the position as Head of the Jenova Project. I was listed as Project S-1 or Project A, but I was not originally intended to be a project at all: I found my mother's files on me and on you in her lab in Gongaga. Neither of us were meant to be experiments, but that was the only way she could keep Hojo from interfering. Somehow, he still managed to do that anyway…I despise that man from the very core of my whole being. But let us get back to Genesis. Well, after time Angeal began to think Genesis was right and he defected from SOLDIER as well, leaving Sephiroth and Zack as the only active 1st Class operatives while I was forbidden from field work. I was taking a turn as Hojo's guinea pig and I was not pleased about it: at that time, Sephiroth and I were not aware of the blood connection we shared through mother. I knew Dr. Lucrecia Crescent was my mother but everyone was told that Sephiroth's mother was Jenova. Hojo never bothered to inform either of us that we were half-siblings; indeed, he did not seem fazed by that fact himself."

"What do you mean, Sayuri? I can understand that no one knew you were related, but what has that got to do with Hojo experimenting on you?" Vincent asked, dreading the answer he suspected he'd get.

"It has everything to do with it, unfortunately." She closed her eyes and ran a hand back through her hair, which she had recently cut so that it fell just above her thighs. She was not certain that she wanted to tell these things to Vincent, not when she had yet to tell Reno, but her sharp analytical mind told her that she had better tell Vincent before she told anyone else. The reasoning behind this was simply: of everyone she intended to tell, he was by far the most level-headed and least likely to become entirely enraged by the information. "What many have failed to understand is this: I was raised to be SOLDIER…raised by Hojo and Verdot. Hell, Tseng has known me since he joined the Turks, as has Rude. I was raised alongside Cissnei and as I got older I was separated even from the Turks and given a highly specific education in assassination and warfare. I was taught about weaponry and materia: how to use them, load them, take them apart, clean them, and put them back together. I mean guns, knives, swords, projectiles, bombs, chemical and biological weapons…pretty much you name it and they instructed me on it. I was molded into a perfect SOLDIER, with the added bonus of turning into more and more of a beauty the more I matured."

"By the time I was eight, I looked sixteen and had mastered every kind of weapon at Shinra's disposal and I had also been trained on how to use my 'feminine' abilities to my advantage. I was put to work as a SOLDIER 2nd Class and shipped out to inspect the reactors with two Turks as my…'escorts' was what Hojo called them, I believe. On my sixteenth birthday, I was made SOLDIER 1st Class and given a solo mission to assassinate a man leading an attack on one of the Reactors. I killed him and though I did it with such proficiency that terrified the Turks accompanying me, I have never forgotten the man's scream as I crushed his skull with my bare hands. I had become precisely what Hojo wanted of me: a monster. I was Alpha through and through, with no real compassion for others unless it was beneficial to my purpose or to my mission. At first, I did not question this lack of self-control and self- will: I could kill people and that was all I seemed to want to do, so I was content. However, I began to wonder why it was that only I was this way: none of the other Firsts acted in such fashions, so why did I behave so?"

"You began to question yourself and then the man who raised you… And what did Hojo tell you?" Vincent asked, now completely absorbed in learning about the way his daughter had been raised and treated throughout her life.

"At first, he told me that it was nothing to be concerned about; that I was unique and as such, the rules did not really apply to me just as they didn't really apply to Sephiroth. I let it go for a month or so and asked again…this time he told me not to be so nosy and to behave like a good specimen should. When he called me his specimen...that was when it struck a nerve and I became truly aware of the fact that I had two minds: one was Alpha, the weapon he had infused into my body and the other was, of course, my own consciousness. I did not yet know of his treachery, that he had implanted me with a piece of Jenova's heart and Alpha 'WEAPON' as he mistakenly identified it. Alpha is not a weapon like Omega WEAPON or Ultima WEAPON, but rather it is a gene like the Chaos gene that you carried. You realize that Chaos never really left you…don't you? Chaos is still there inside you, but it is now completely under your control and the restriction of the protomateria. I have come to be able to vastly limit the times when Alpha is loose, but Alpha could still get free and cause a severe amount of damage to the Planet and to those I care for. That was why I gave Adanna to a friend and sealed myself away: I can feel Alpha growing more and more restless. I fear that we will be seeing Alpha before much longer…and I fear, more than that, that a few pieces of the past will be making reappearances to cause mayhem again."

"You mean Genesis?" Vincent was now a bit confused…'pieces of the past'?

"Yes, Genesis and most likely Sephiroth as well…also, others who are not so unwelcome."

--Later that day, early evening at Sayuri's--

Sayuri was tapping her fingernails on the counter in irritation as Rufus argued with Reeve: Rufus wanted Sayuri to go and search for the child he was "rumored" to have in Wutai with the Turks. Problem was that not only had Reno refused to go point blank, saying it was a total waste of time, but Sayuri didn't even give Rufus time to open his mouth before telling him off and to get the fuck out.

"She doesn't want to go, Rufus! You CANNOT force Sayuri to go to Wutai now that Shinra is in ruins! She doesn't work for you, she works for the WRO!" Reeve reasoned with the young President of the fallen Shinra Electric Power Company, trying in vain to assuage the throb of his head by rubbing one temple. Luckily, Vincent had taken Adanna about an hour ago and gone to meet Cloud and the others who were being outfitted with rooms a few floors up: he had reasoned that Marlene would like to have another girl to play with and Denzel would enjoy playing with the two of them as well. Sure enough, the three kids had instantly bonded and began to pretend to fight 'monsters': the unlucky 'monsters' were Cid, Barret, and Yuffie. Now, Sayuri was barely containing her anger with Rufus as he persisted in his argument.

"That may be so, Reeve, but I am also the main sponsor for the WRO and as such I am technically still her boss because I essentially provide her paycheck! And as her financial employer, I want her to go to Wutai and find this child!" As Rufus shouted, Sayuri's patience with him snapped.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Sayuri literally snarled, silencing the two instantly. Both men flinched away from her golden-green glare and had to fight the urge to recoil as she took a few steps towards them. "The both of you are on my very last nerve right now, so I suggest that you be quiet and PAY ATTENTION!" Rufus and Reeve nodded empathically to show that they were indeed doing just that, even if it was out of fear that she'd snap their necks. "First off: Reeve, Rufus does have a point. He does provide the vast majority of the WRO's funding. However, I work for no man; I am working for the WRO and for the benefit of the Planet which just happens to put me under the two of you blockheads. Secondly, Reno wasn't kidding when he said that any of us going to Wutai is an utter waste of time: there will be no child of yours there Rufus. I have a hunch that I know who started this rumor and I intend to deal with this person very severely."

"But Sayuri-!" Rufus and Reeve both turned to look at her with incredulous and nervous looks as they protested.

"No 'buts', gentlemen. I know that this rumor has at least a grain of truth to it and so I already investigated it for you. However, there is no need to go to Wutai or to even leave this building if you seriously want the truth. I will tell you but only in a private conversation, just you and I." Sayuri sighed: she could not believe that she was already having to tell Rufus that Adanna was his daughter and he had never even seen the girl. It seemed that the two men could sense the danger they risked if they disagreed and Reeve quickly complied with Sayuri's wishes by fleeing from the woman's quarters. This left Sayuri alone with Rufus, who seemed to gain confidence as she sank onto the couch with a defeated sigh.

"So…what is the truth, Sayuri? I assume that this has, at least in some part, something to do with you directly." Sayuri shot him an annoyed and threatening look for voicing his 'assumption'. "Now, now…let me explain. I assume that because you insisted on my being the only one to hear it. That generally means that you had something to do with it and want as few people as possible to know or it is something that you would rather not divulge at all."

"Yes, well… As I suspected, she inherited your shrewd intellect along with your eyes and hair. But some of her intelligence can be attributed to her mother also, so I'd say you're square on the genetic side of the argument." Sayuri mused, half talking to herself and smiling as she remembered how tiny Adanna had been when she was born as opposed to the rambunctious seven year old that she was now. "As for the aspect of being a responsible parent…well her mother failed on that one up until a couple months ago. Her mother gave birth to her in Kalm and left her in the care of a recently married couple, both former Shinra employees: Quinton and Leila Foxis."

"'She'? I have a daughter then?" Sayuri nodded and she saw some sort of emotion, probably male pride but possibly something more, flash across Rufus's face and settle in his fathomless blue eyes that Adanna shared with her biological father. "How do you know so much about her when everyone else knows so little, Sayuri?"

"Leila was a very dear friend of mine…when I asked, she answered. That is all you need to know for the present. Or would you prefer that I stop telling you about your child that, until a moment ago, you did not know was even real, much less a girl?" Rufus held up his hands in mock defeat.

"No, by all means, please…continue. Forgive me for I have been remiss! Here you are telling me about my child, free of charge when you technically have no obligation to share any of your knowledge with me unless you want to, and I am questioning your kindness and your sources." Rufus said with all due respect but with a small dose of his typical sarcastic and superiority-complex mindset. Sayuri raised one of her finely arched eyebrows in critical evaluation of the slightly taller blond.

"Don't be crass with me, brat, or I swear I will deck the fucking shit out of you." Sayuri spoke with a conviction that guaranteed that her words were far from an empty threat. Rufus gave her a smug grin and she raised a hand threateningly, effectively subduing him into a restrained attitude of attentive respect despite the occasional slipping of a small smirk. Giving him a disapproving and sour scowl, Sayuri resumed her account of Adanna. "Now, as I was saying; she was entrusted to the Foxis couple who did exactly as her mother asked them. They vanished and took your daughter with them. In fact, three days after the girl's birth, they moved to Rocket Town for three months and from there, to Wutai where they still reside."

"So she is in Wutai…but why then would it be pointless to go there?" Rufus demanded, cutting Sayuri off and earning a smack on the head. "What was that for?!"

"I wasn't finished. Now shut up and sit still!" Sayuri hissed while Rufus attempted make himself look pitifully hurt: unfortunately for him, this did nothing but to earn him a fiercer scowl and a low growl of distaste. "As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted, you impertinent brat…" Rufus chuckled and earned a solid death glare as a reward while Sayuri continued. "Leila and Quinton still reside in Wutai with their six year old twins sons. However, your daughter was picked up from their residence, with a little aid from various unnamed sources, by her mother a little over two months ago. She has been living with her mother and her mother's lover, whom she sees as her father, since then." Rufus made to ask yet another stupid question but Sayuri sucked in a long and deep breath, bracing herself for the final and hardest of revelations: she was rescued from the task, however, by a small blond blur hurtling into her lap.

"Mommy, mommy! I got to wear Uncle Rude's glasses! And GUESS WHAT!" Adanna, always irrepressible when it came to her mother, was chattering a mile a minute and didn't even notice Rufus. He, however, could not take his eyes from this feminine-child version of himself: long blond waves, a trait she'd gotten from Sayuri, fell down to her waist and huge liquid blue eyes gazed lovingly up at Sayuri, just as deep and fathomless as his own. Truly, this must be the daughter Sayuri had told him of and judging from the cries of 'mommy' directed at Sayuri, she was the girl's mother. Quite suddenly, everything made sense to Rufus: why Sayuri had gone missing, why she had treated him so cruelly since her return, and the more recent total avoidance of anyone that might have tattled.

"What darling?" Sayuri asked as Adanna easily scooted herself onto her mother's lap. The small sunbeam that was Adanna instantly began recounting a tall tale of how she, Marlene, and Denzel had 'slain' Cid, Barret, and Yuffie and saved Tifa from the 'monsters' the trio were acting as. Sayuri smiled and when she heard a light chuckle from the doorway, she looked up and smiled at Reno, who was idly leaning on the doorframe.

"-and then Daddy had to rescue me from Denzel, who got bit and turned into a monster by Yuffie! But he didn't hurt Denzel…that was okay, right?"

"Yes, sweetheart: Daddy was right to save you but not hurt Denzel. Now, what do you want for dinner?" Sayuri asked as she easily stood, lifting Adanna to rest on her hip as she did so. It was at this juncture that the seven year old noticed the still staring and silent Rufus.

"Mommy, who is that funny man? He's pretty!" Both Reno and Sayuri had to hide their snickers at Adanna's outburst and description of her biological father as 'pretty'.

"That…" Reno said as he took Adanna from Sayuri with an ease that had developed with surprising speed over the past two months. "Is Daddy's boss. He's Rufus Shinra, the President of the Shinra Electric Power Company."

"Oooh…hi Mister Rufus!" Adanna smiled happily as she clung to Reno's neck and nuzzled her nose against his cheek with a giggle. Then she returned her attention to her mother. "Mommy, can we have pancakes?"

"Why pancakes?" Sayuri asked slyly, knowing that the reason was because Adanna wanted to help Reno make the much desired breakfast food. She smiled when her only child confirmed her guess and sighed, caving in under the two pairs of blue puppy-dog eyes that she was pinned with. "Alright, you and Daddy can make pancakes…but you have to be careful and try not to make a mess! We're going to have company for dinner tonight and Mommy will probably have to make something else for the others, okay?" Reno and Adanna both grinned and said that they'd behave before fleeing to the kitchen. "I suppose, given your expression and stunned silence, that you've figured it all out by now, haven't you?" Sayuri asked as she turned back to Rufus.

"She's your daughter…_our_ daughter! When did…?" Rufus allowed the complete and total shock to sink in as the realization hit him. "That night at the bar in Midgar…the bet we made: was that when…?" Sayuri nodded and Rufus swallowed hard as he remembered the simple fact that Sayuri had been extremely drunk -and drugged- that night. The simple reality was that if one were to apply technical terms and rules to the event, he had date-raped her and gotten her pregnant then acted like she was something to be used and discarded. After that night, he had cut himself off from her to avoid any possible repercussions, not knowing that there had already been a serious one in the form of Sayuri carrying his then unborn-child. "Sayuri…I didn't…"

"Relax and forget about it, Rufus. I won't ban you from her…but I haven't told her yet and I'm not sure I even know what to tell her. But for now, she is convinced that Reno is her father. When she gets older, I will tell her the truth. Until then we'll just have to improvise I suppose. So for now, you will be Daddy's boss, nice Mister Rufus! Although I dare say she'll end up calling you Uncle Rufus before the night is out. After all, you're staying for dinner so that you can get to interact with her a bit."


	8. Something's Wrong

* * *

Fallen Angels & Lost SOLDIERs, Chapter Eight: Something's Wrong…

* * *

Rufus was finding himself to be extremely uncomfortable, what with being surrounded by Sayuri, Reno, Adanna, Rude, Tseng, Elena, and Reeve with Cait Sith. Adanna was happily bobbing her head to some sort of melody, snippets of which could randomly be heard being sung by the child. Reno and Rude were watching with light smiles as Cait Sith joined in the child's song-making, adding his peculiar lilt to the tune. Sayuri and Reeve were yet again discussing the possibility of materia production within the WRO: Sayuri said that she knew of a way to harness the lifestream and mako energy without the use of a reactor. Naturally, this interested Tseng as well as Rufus and Reeve which, in turn, vexed poor Elena.

"The Ancients have always been able to use the power of the lifestream, though they didn't call it mako energy. I don't see any reason why we cannot use a similar method. A month ago I went to the Forgotten City and was surprised to easily locate the white materia that Aerith always used to wear in her hair." All of them looked at her in shock.

"You found it? Everyone has been looking for that for four years and no one has been able to find it or even catch a glimpse of it!" This came from Elena, who was vainly trying to regain Tseng's attention. Whether consciously or not, she did so now by leaning right across the said man's lap to gape at Sayuri. Sayuri raised a mildly amused eyebrow at the younger woman's antics before pulling a soft leather pouch from inside a breast pocket of her vest. From this pouch, she produced the white materia, which was faintly glowing green.

"I am not an Ancient, and yet the materia has responded to me and is beginning to allow me to draw on the power of the lifestream. A few days ago, I made a small scale machine like the ones that used to be on the SOLDIER floor of the Shinra building. I was quite surprised when it actually worked and produced a functioning fire materia, albeit slightly smaller than your average materia." This unconcerned statement triggered a series of exclamations and Adanna simply looked at the grown-ups as if they had all lost their minds.

"Mommy, can I play my videogame with Cait Sith in the den?" The girl asked as she held the robotic cat much like an extremely prized toy: close to her heart and delicately, almost the way she would carry a live cat.

"I'll tell you what Adanna… You can play but only for an hour and then it will be time to get ready for bed, alright?" Reno whispered as he held his adopted daughter close and pretended to 'whisper' in her ear. He and Adanna loved to act like they were pulling a fast one over on Sayuri, but Reno always made certain that she knew before they actually did anything. Now there was a pretend bending of the rule of no videogames after seven o'clock because at eight Adanna was to bathe, brush her hair and teeth, put on pajamas, and be put to bed by either Sayuri or Reno. It was currently a quarter past seven and Reno knew it as certainly as Adanna did, but Sayuri decided to let them get away with it.

"Will you come play too, Daddy? You're the best at it and Cait Sith doesn't really know how to play…" Ah…Sayuri and Reno exchanged amused and knowing looks. Adanna had probably been aiming for Reno to play the game with her from the start but had been afraid to ask. Now that she knew she was allowed to play the game, she had decided that it couldn't hurt to ask if Reno would play as well. Reno smiled as he took Adanna's hand and led her away into the den, totally ignoring the looks that trailed after the unexpected bond shared by the pair. None of those present, not even Sayuri, would have pinned Reno as such a pushover. Nope, not even when it came to an adorable little girl that called him Daddy; never would have guessed it, not a one of them. Sayuri shook her head and smiled as she gathered their plates and put them in the kitchen before returning to the table.

"Sayuri, could we see that fire materia you made?" Tseng asked, always business as usual. Rufus was absently watching the conversations of the others and the surprised faces of everyone as Elena made the small fire materia produce a relatively large flame. It appeared that Sayuri was worth her weight in gil not only for her skills and status as an ex-SOLDIER, but also as a scientist: she had found a way to produce mako energy and materia without Shinra's technology or mako reactors. She had done it with whatever method it was she used that worked so well: she was producing more compact, and yet far more powerful, materia in a short span of time. At about ten minutes till eight, Reno appeared from the den, carrying Adanna who was out cold.

"She fell asleep about ten minutes ago." He explained as he got odd looks from the others. Rude and Reeve chuckled and Elena made a sort of quiet squeal of adoration at how cute they looked. Sayuri made to take her daughter but Reno gave her a look to shoo her away and continued towards Adanna's bedroom. It was only after he had disappeared from sight that Sayuri realized Adanna had already been in her pajamas: she didn't know when her child had changed, but she couldn't help but smile at her forethought. Returning her attention to the others, she smiled and said goodbye as Tseng and Elena departed with Reeve and Cait Sith. This left only Rude, Rufus, and herself in the living room. Soon, Rude also left for his own rooms one floor up and Sayuri was left to her own defense with Rufus.

"She's perfect, you know…" Sayuri jumped as Rufus unexpectedly addressed her and then nodded when she realized that he was speaking of Adanna. "Her name, Adanna, what does it mean?"

"It means 'her father's daughter'…why? Afraid I had named her something stupid?" Sayuri chided gently as she brought him a drink from the small bar in the corner. She had grabbed a simple wine cooler for herself and she knew that Reno would mix his own drink if he wanted one when he came back. Rufus shook his head that no, he had not thought she'd named their daughter something stupid.

"I just wanted to know: I have never heard it before and it is a very beautiful name. I simply wished to know what it meant is all." Sayuri watched him, studying him, as he slowly drank his beverage. Frowning, she opted to ignore the odd expression on his face and shrugged before taking a sip of her own drink: she had chosen carefully. It took a lot to get her tipsy and even more to get her drunk, so she had chosen a wine cooler which was guaranteed not to give her so much as even a light buzz. The last time she'd let herself drink unsupervised around Rufus, she'd ended up with Adanna and a whole mess of trouble. Not something she was likely to do again if she had her way. She smiled as she heard Reno's footsteps go into the kitchen and come back towards them, pausing at the precise point where he could hear and see but not be seen or heard himself.

"Sayuri, you have to have thought about the fact that she's the next Shinra heir." Rufus was staring into his drink as he slowly rotated the glass in his hands and Sayuri nodded, knowing he could see her. "Once she is older and knows about me, will you be willing to let her chose to come and live with me so that she can be taught about her family history?" Another nod was his answer and he gave a defeated and frustrated sigh before rising. Setting his empty glass down on the table, he left and gave Reno a brief look as he passed him in the hall to the door. Without a word, Reno padded over to her and sat down, taking the wine cooler away.

"No drinking in the house, remember? It's your own rule, Yuri." He was playfully scolding her and she tried to scowl but ended up smiling. She didn't ask for the drink back and instead, she guided his hand to set it down beside Rufus's empty glass. Slowly, she pulled him down for one of the deepest and most passionate kisses she had ever given him. As the kiss escalated into the beginnings of love-making neither of them were aware that Rufus had come back...only to stop at the same point Reno had just occupied. He'd forgotten his phone but he quickly decided to abandon the electronic device in light of the scene before him. Reno was sitting on the couch and Sayuri had sat in his lap, straddling him. As Reno slowly kissed her throat and unbuttoned her blouse, she arched into his attentions and closed her eyes while making barely audible moans. Rufus fled from their quarters and towards his own above them: he had half-heartedly wished it was him and not Reno who was Sayuri's lover. But such notions were foolish wishes and he knew it, so he had quickly vacated the premises on principle: to watch one of your employees fuck his girlfriend generally wasn't looked well upon, even if the girlfriend was the mother of your child. So Rufus passed his evening with a nice cold shower and a long overdue date with some hard alcohol.

--The next morning--

Sayuri contentedly sighed and stretched out in the enormous bed she shared with Reno: he wasn't beside her, but the warmth left by him was still there and she happily snuggled into it. She could hear the shower running and she knew that must be where Reno was, since Adanna usually got up later. After some time, Adanna slipped into the room and tiptoed over to crawl onto the master bed. Gently, she tapped her mother's shoulder and whispered Mommy many times. Finally Sayuri rolled off of her stomach and pulled her head out of Reno's pillow to give her daughter a smile and a kiss. "What is it baby duck?"

"Mommy…Daddy isn't my real daddy is he?" Sayuri was instantly wide awake and staring at her only child.

"Who told you that baby duck?" Adanna remained stubbornly silent before asking her question again.

"Is it true, Mommy? Is Daddy not my daddy?"

"Do you really want me to tell you the truth?" Adanna nodded and Sayuri sighed, sitting up while pulling the covers up to cover herself with. She then pulled her daughter close into her lap and stroked her hair. "No, baby…he isn't your real daddy, but he wants to be your daddy and he loves you just as much as I do."

"Okay…so who is my real daddy?" The eight year old once again displayed an adult level of shrewdness in having interpreted Sayuri's unsaid words about Rufus. "Is it that pretty man, Daddy's boss?" Sayuri was stunned by her child's intuitiveness but nodded and tilted Adanna's face so that they could look into each other's eyes.

"He wanted you to come and live with him…if you want, Daddy and I will let you go live with him. He can give you all kinds of things that we can't: a private tutor and a maid, for instance. And you'll probably be able to live anywhere you want; I'm sure he'll be very nice to you because he loves you, just like me and Daddy." Adanna seemed to digest this information for several seconds and then the child smiled widely.

"I must be the luckiest girl on the Planet! I have a Mommy, a Daddy, and a Papa!" Adanna hugged her mother with enthusiasm before asking if she could go visit Rufus, just to see what it would be like. Sayuri felt a small pang in her heart but smiled and told her daughter that would be just fine but that she would have to wait a couple days first. All bouncing blond waves of silky hair, Adanna happily agreed and went off to prepare for the day: most likely, she was going to convince one of the WRO members to let her follow them again. About ten minutes later, Reno emerged from the adjoining master bathroom and was surprised to find Sayuri still in bed.

"Yuri? Yo, you okay babe?" Sayuri nodded, her head once again buried in his pillow. Sighing, he somehow got the impression that she was fibbing and sat down on the bed beside her, still with naught but a towel wrapped about his hips. "Yuri, what are you thinking?" He knew that by asking her that, she would have to tell him the truth about whether or not she was okay, albeit indirectly. Slightly muffled by the pillow, from which she steadfastly refused to withdraw her head from, she told him of what had just transpired between mother and daughter. Reno sat and listened in mute disbelief: Adanna had either figured it out on her own, which was not probable but very plausible, or someone had the nerve to tell the child. The number of people who could have told was strictly limited and consisted of Rufus, Rude, Reno and Sayuri themselves; Leila and Quinton might have known as well as Vincent if he had figured it out but none of them would have dared to tell the eight year old that the man she believed to be her daddy was not her real father. "So she wants to go and live with Rufus for a while to determine who she wants to live with?" Reno asked incredulously, finally finding his voice after they had sat in silence for a while.

"Yes and no… She wants to know what he's like and that's normal for a kid to want to know their parents. I told her that, if it was what she wanted, we'd let her live with him, Reno…I suppose someone had better tell Rufus before Adanna surprises the hell out of him…" Sayuri now snuggled close to him: she knew Adanna was gone because she'd heard Cait Sith talking with the child about how to properly behave if she was going to accompany Reeve that day. Shortly afterwards, Adanna had come in with Cait Sith and given her mother a kiss and hug good-bye, Cait Sith saying he'd have her home for lunch. It was eight-thirty in the morning and Sayuri found herself unwilling to get up just yet: so, she snuggled against Reno's still damp body and gave a sigh. "Reno, come back to bed…please? I don't want to get up yet." Reno vaguely registered that Sayuri never stayed in bed past eight and that was at the latest: perhaps she was feeling ill? He frowned but ended up giving in when she playfully kissed his Adam's apple, tickling the sensitive skin with her soft lips.

"Alright, we'll go back to bed! But don't count on getting a lot of sleep if you keep that up." Reno conceded before warning her, waggling a finger at her and giving her his most mischievous smirk. This instigated a tickling war and the war in turn became sensual caresses and smoldering kisses. Reno laughed when he pinned Sayuri under him, arms above her head, with her heaving chest and full breasts resting under his thighs. His towel had long since been lost in the fray and she had never gotten dressed after their lovemaking the previous night. "Whoa…hey now…that feels really good…" Reno's laughter vanished and was replaced by a look of pure pleasure, his eyes closed and head back. Sayuri, with an evil grin, had begun to kiss his inner thighs and swirl her tongue in delicate patterns against his burning skin. Without realizing it, Reno let go of her arms and before long she decided to pursue more sensitive targets. With complete ease now that her hands were free, she took his hardening cock under her careful attentions by rubbing, stroking, kissing, licking, and sucking.

Reno felt himself coming closer and closer to a climax and with a wrench of willpower, he pulled away and effectively stopped Sayuri's ministrations. With the look of a prowling beast, he smiled and ran his hands along her body. When he casually moved so that his cock brushed against her opening, she tried to arch so that he'd slide inside and he was pleased to feel that she was very wet already. He mentally shrugged and, without giving her a warning, thrust himself deep inside of her: pleasure instantly exploded through both of them. Reno smiled because it didn't take long for him to bring her to a powerful orgasm and, as the first slacked off, he mercilessly gave her another. As he prepared to give in to his own climax, he brought her to a third and something felt slightly wrong to him… He realized this too late, however, as both he and Sayuri came together. After a moment, he pinpointed the nagging feeling and pulled out of her slowly: sure enough, she flinched and acted as if the simple motion was uncomfortable to her.

"Sayuri, did I hurt you?" He whispered and gently stroked her face as he sat with his back against the headboard. Slowly and wordlessly, she readjusted herself and lay against him, resting her head on his shoulder. She shook her head that no, he had not hurt her but he felt like there was something she wasn't telling him…something that should be obvious to him. He knew that he could be too rough with her sometimes, because he was just overeager at times and thoughtless of how he might affect others: this applied to his sex-life as surely as all other aspects of his life. Then a thought hit him like a ton of bricks: Sayuri had not had her cycle yet that month and it was usually the first week of every month…it was now three weeks late at least. Bracing himself for potentially being a dense ass and for the answer he suspected he'd get, Reno slowly spoke. "Yuri…tell me the truth: did I hurt you?"

"It was just a little uncomfortable, that's all. I don't know why but it's felt odd, for a few weeks now, whenever we have sex." Reno's breath caught in his throat and he swiftly made a decision.

"Yuri, can you get Reeve to give you some time off?" Confused, she nodded at Reno's suddenly odd and protective behavior. Reading the question in her eyes, he murmured the answer as he kissed her hair. "I want to take you to the doctor."

"Why?" Was all she could manage to say, now slightly alarmed.

"You're right, something does feel odd; even I noticed it babe. So, I'm taking you to a doctor because I want to find out why it feels odd for certain, not just guess or hope it goes away." Reno smiled reassuringly and realized that she hadn't put the pieces together yet: she didn't even suspect what was really worrying him and he decided not to tell her…yet. Instead, he kissed her brow gently and told her to go shower: it was ten o'clock and Adanna would be coming back soon for lunch. She asked where he was going but he just smiled and continued to get dressed. Once he was presentable and confident that she was indeed showering and would get dressed, he made his way to Rufus's temporary quarters.

--Rufus' quarters at WRO--

Reno stood outside of the young President's door, precisely where he had been for the past ten minutes, and finally let his annoyance win over his sense of Rufus' authority as his employer: he kicked the simple metal door open and walked in with a yell of, "Boss, its Reno! Sorry to intrude an' all but I've been pounding on the door for ten minutes and no answer! You alright in here?" Still he received no answer: Reno's instincts, compounded by his training as a Turk, told him that something was not right and glad that he always carried a weapon, he prepped his EMR just in case as he began to methodically enter and search each room. As he entered the large study, the only room he had yet to search, he gave an exasperated sigh: Rufus had never even gone to bed. Rather, he had fallen asleep in his expensive pajamas, sprawled across the huge desk in the study while surrounded by a vast array of partially drunk and empty liquor bottles. And the other Turks accused Reno of being a heavy drinker! This amount was enough to give anyone a hangover from Hell if not alcohol poisoning and it had been Rufus who consumed it, not Reno.

Cautiously, Reno nudged Rufus' leg with his toe and was mildly relieved when the blond man gave a groan before moving and falling out of his chair with a hard thump as he hit the floor. Reno winched inwardly: that had to have stung, though with as much liquor as his boss appeared to have consumed, he probably couldn't feel shit to begin with. Smirking and deciding to test this theory, Reno gave Rufus a well aimed and fairly weak kick: a groan and a curse were the President's only protests as he attempted to rise from his prostrate position on the study floor. At least Reno could be confident that Rufus was in fact still alive, even if he was hung-over. Openly chuckling at his boss' semi-incapacitated state, Reno opted to be slightly compassionate for a fellow hangover victim and 'helped' Rufus to the bathroom. Heedless of Rufus' fine silk pajamas, Reno turned the water temperature to cold and filled the large tub before dunking him in. The desired reaction was instantaneous: Rufus re-emerged, with Reno's firm grip on his shirt collar never wavering, spluttering, coughing, and cursing everything that came to his mind, which currently focused on Reno but was not limited to him exclusively.

"Reno! You son of a bitch! Are you trying to fucking drown me? If so, consider your lazy ass as good as dead!" Standing up and still spluttering as he tried to shake off the frigid water, Rufus glared at the obviously amused red-head. "May all the gods be damned for giving me such a knuckle-headed smart-ass as a bodyguard! And damn me for befriending him!" Reno was now desperately trying not to laugh uproariously at the resemblance his employer now bore to a soaked and pissed-off feline. About fifteen minutes later found Reno waiting in the study, picking up after Rufus' drinking binge, while said blond was drying off and changing clothes. When he felt that Rufus had taken enough time to make himself presentable, Reno cleared his throat and addressed his employer.

"Sayuri tells me that you want Adanna to be told who you are. She also said that you wanted her to have the option of living with you if she wanted to once she was told about you. Kind of uncharacteristically charitable of you… wouldn't you agree, Boss?" All noise from Rufus' bedroom ceased and Reno took that to mean that he had the young President's full attention now, so he pressed on. "Adanna asked her this morning about that very subject actually…makes me wonder if somebody mentioned it to her last night because she's never asked us before. So, naturally Sayuri told her the truth: Adanna knows about you now and she asked us if she could visit with you sometime, since you're her Papa as she calls you. She says she's the luckiest little girl on the Planet because she has Sayuri, me, and now she has you, too." After a short silence, Rufus came to stand in the doorway to the study, critically looking Reno over for traces of deceit and malice.

"Adanna wants to come live with me for a few days and Sayuri acquiesced? Surely you jest with me Reno!" Reno hid a smirk: so he had hit a nerve, eh? It would appear that Rufus truly had taken to the role of a father, despite only having just learned about his daughter the previous evening. When Reno remained painfully silent, Rufus seemed to realize that he was very serious and probably a bit miffed at being so easily supplanted in Adanna's small realm of affections. "Did Sayuri say when she would be coming to stay with me?" Reno shook his head in a negative response and Rufus sighed but started as Reno seemed to hesitate over saying something. "What is it, Reno? You seem…uneasy somehow…"

"Sayuri didn't say a lot of things recently, it seems." Reno said as he pulled a hand back through his bangs and Rufus belatedly notice the absence of Reno's customary goggles: it would seem that he was far more anxious than he was letting on if he'd forgotten those. Rufus decided to patiently wait for the red-head to continue, for he obviously was debating how to phrase the rest of his concern. "I actually came up here to ask if you could keep Adanna for the next week or so…" Rufus looked startled but Reno silenced him and continued. "Sayuri has been acting strange and I noticed something this morning that worries me. I want to use some of my two week vacation, what's left anyway, to take her to a doctor I know of in Mideel, since Junon isn't one of her favorite places at any time: too many people for her."

"A doctor… Is she ill?"

"No, I don't think so…not precisely anyways. I think…" Reno gave an exasperated sigh and it was clear that he did not like having to divulge whatever it was that concerned him so. Rufus silently prompted him to continue by cocking his head to the side. "I think…that Sayuri might be pregnant. There, happy now Boss? I told you something that is bound to make everyone that knows me either die of shock or hysterics." Reno had slumped into the large chair behind the desk and had dropped his head into his hands. Honestly, it was not the fact that Sayuri might be pregnant, but rather the fact that she had been made uncomfortable by their love-making that bothered him. It gave him a sense of guilt that he may have hurt her and possibly even their unborn child, should she prove to be expecting. Much to Reno's surprise, Rufus said nothing while he poured a stiff drink which he then handed to Reno.

"Drink it and then go back to Sayuri: I'll take Adanna and I want you to take as long as you need to make sure Sayuri is alright. Tell her that I'll pick Adanna up from your quarters tomorrow morning and then I want you two in Mideel by nightfall, understood? I'll call so Adanna can say goodnight to you and her mother and to make sure you arrive safely." Reno stared at his boss, numbly registering that Rufus was actually giving him a free-leave for as long as it took without penalizing him for it. He was so shocked that he drank whatever it was that he'd been given without even tasting it. He then thanked Rufus and left, still dumbfounded by this unanticipated generosity from the young President. He had rather expected to be reminded of how many people had forbidden him to reproduce, much less how many thought he wouldn't stick around if he ever actually did.

--Thirty-six hours later, Mideel--

Sayuri was disinterestedly staring at the collection of signs and magazines that were the sole décor of the waiting room, along with many deeply cushioned and comfortable chairs, in the doctor's office. She knew that Reno had only brought her here out of concern for her and that only to Mideel because of her dislike for large crowds and big hospitals with labs: Hojo still had a large effect on her life even from his supposed grave, it would seem. She hated any places that reminded her of the mad scientist even in the slightest, which included large cities and places that bore ties to Shinra, such as Junon, Midgar, and Costa del Sol. So, he had brought here to the island community of Mideel, famous for its hospital, which had been rebuilt in the past four years to be better than ever before. Reno himself was sitting beside her, impatiently twitching at every single little thing: they had been waiting for almost a half hour and they had only seen two other patients come in and one had already left.

They had actually been the first people to arrive at the doctor's office at a little past ten a.m.: the office itself had opened late that morning, two hours late to be exact. This was partially due to a well-placed call from Rufus, telling them that he would reimburse them for the inconvenience and that he would also provide the fees for any patients that had to cancel or reschedule their appointments: the office did not protest and did as requested which was to delay their opening until Reno arrived with Sayuri. Finally, a nurse opened the door and called out, "Mrs. Crescent? The doctor will see you now." Sayuri made to correct her but Reno simply shook his head to leave it and held onto her hand as the nurse led them into the back, where they performed a battery of tests. Sayuri hated all of them: she had to sit while her vitals were taken, pee in a cup, allow them to take a blood sample, and answer an absurd number of questions. She had missed all of these things when she was pregnant with Adanna because she had avoided people and doctors alike.

Now, not even knowing if she was pregnant, she had to do them all and she was greatly annoyed by the time the nurse came back. She was all smiles for Reno but only coolly aloof towards Sayuri: it was obvious that the young woman was yet another victim of worshipping the handsome red-head and hating Sayuri for her obvious possession of his affection. Reno had not even looked at any of the women in the office unless they asked a question or needed him to do something pertaining to Sayuri and her comfort. The attitude of the nurses was not lost on him however, and he was beginning to show signs of annoyance with them as well. The last straw came with the nurse who was performing the two different pregnancy tests: one was a urine test and the other a blood test, since some women did not provide accurate results with one or the other.

"Well, all of these tests are giving us the same answer: you're pregnant Mrs. Crescent. One wonders how much luck the divinities can bestow on one woman when the woman is one such as you." The nurse, roughly the same age as Tifa, seemed to be rather obnoxious and rude as she gave the news that Sayuri was indeed pregnant. Sayuri was momentarily caught off guard: the nurse's words could be interpreted two ways- as an insult or a compliment- and she was not sure which one was the correct one. Reno, however, did not care and finally allowed his annoyance to show as his temper gave a rare flare.

"Look here you lot!" He snapped while pointing a finger at the nurses and shocking everyone in the office. "Just because she's breathtakingly beautiful doesn't give you a right to be cruel to her! On top of that, just because she's my wife and pregnant with my child does not give you the right to be rude and insensitive!" Sayuri was not fazed by Reno's temper, as it was not presently directed at her, and so she laid a gentle hand on his arm and shook her head. Everyone stared as he instantly subsided into passive silence, though he still glared, while a nurse quickly took them into a private exam room equipped with a sonogram machine. She told Sayuri to please remove her clothes and put on the smock she was provided with and that the doctor would be in shortly. Sayuri was vexed at all of the procedures, which seemed to be made to embarrass patients on purpose to her mind, but did as she was told because it would comfort Reno to have this doctor examine her. :_The things people will do for the happiness of those they love are complex and often bizarre…will these mysteries never cease to abound before me and within my own heart?_: Sayuri thought with bittersweet amusement.

When Reno ventured to ask if she was alright, she smiled and kissed him. "I'm alright, you crazy monkey." He chuckled at Sayuri's teasing nickname. They sat in companionable silence for a moment before Sayuri spoke again. "Thank you for what you said earlier, but it wasn't really necessary you know…we're not married, after all. I think all of them will be extremely careful about how they act from now on, thanks to you. But truly, it didn't bother me half so much as simply being forced to submit to all of those damn tests: 'pee in this cup', 'sit still', 'let me take blood'…all those commands and not being able to tell them fuck off was really uncomfortable for me. You noticed and told them pretty much what I was thinking: take your attitudes and go fuck yourselves." Reno blinked for a few seconds and then sighed as he stood and came to hug her where she was sitting on the exam table: not the comfiest place but undoubtedly where the doctor would have her sit.

"Don't let people's jealousy and ignorance get to you, yo. Their just people and what the majority of them think isn't worth shit anyways. All that should matter to you is what you think and what the ones who love you think, like me and Adanna for instance." Reno gave her one of his classic smirks and she couldn't help but laugh at him. It was at this moment that a knock sounded on the door and it slowly opened to allow an older woman to poke her head in.

"Hello! Not interrupting anything am I?" Both of them shook their heads and the woman smiled as she slipped in, shutting the door behind her. "Ah, that's reassuring: I hate to walk in on a couple during private conversations and such…makes me feel like I've eavesdropped or something." The woman smiled and extended her hand for Reno to shake. "As you might have guessed, I'm your OB/GYN; Dr. Symphonius, though everyone calls me Dr. S for short. This handsome devil must be the father…Mr. Crescent, correct?" Reno nodded and smiled in spite of himself: the woman's chipper attitude was infectious. "And this exquisite beauty is Mrs. Crescent! My, but this should be one beautiful baby when it gets here!" Dr. S was smiling as she made a few notations on her clipboard. "Now, do you have any other children?" Sayuri made to answer but Reno beat her to the punch.

"Yes, we have a daughter, Adanna. She's Sayuri's from a previous relationship, eight years old." Dr. S smiled and nodded: it impressed her that Reno had said 'we have a daughter' even though he admitted to not being the father of the girl.

"So this is your first, Mr. Crescent?" Reno nodded: Sayuri was the only one he had EVER gone without protection with and all of the others had been on some contraceptive of their own as well. If he had any kids out there, he sure as Hell had never heard about them. "You're awful calm for a first-timer…I find that to be reassuring; tells me you won't faint later. Not one who gets sick to your stomach easily, are you?" Reno laughed at her and she raised a quizzical brow.

"Doc, I'm a Turk: we don't spook easy and blood is no new thing to me. I saw truckloads of it during my time with Shinra."

"Ah…well then! We shouldn't have any trouble with you being present at the delivery and cutting the cord, should we now?" Reno and Sayuri could tell she was teasing and were surprised at how comfortable this stout woman made them feel. "Now, let's see if we can't find out how far along you are, shall we? Mrs. Crescent if you would just lie back and I'll cover you with this sheet while your charming husband here pulls your gown up to your ribcage." Sayuri did as instructed even though it naggingly reminded her of more unpleasant experiences at Hojo's hands: there was no Hojo here and Reno wouldn't let anyone harm her. "Alright…first we're gonna see if we can pick up any images without using the probe: less invasive and infinitely more comfortable I imagine." Dr. S squeezed some gel out of a bottle that she'd taken from a bucket of warm water: this warmed the gel so that it was a comfortable temperature when it came in contact with the patients' skin. She not only put this gel of the instrument she was holding but squeezed another small glob onto Sayuri stomach just below her navel.

Rubbing the instrument along Sayuri's belly, she quietly mumbled to herself. "Now let's see where this baby is hiding…seems to be rather low which is a bit unusual…" Suddenly, something moved on the screen and Dr. S smiled. "There we are! See that there? That is your baby, folks. You're actually a bit farther along than we'd thought…well now!" Dr. S was pressing various buttons and they watched as the machine did several things and even as a few images were printed from it. "Judging by head circumference and all of the other things we check, which I won't bore you with, I'd have to say you're just about twelve weeks along Mrs. Crescent. In theory, you should start showing by sometime in the fourth month which is only about a month from now for you. We should be able to hear the heartbeat in about six weeks, so we'll schedule you an appointment for six weeks from now and then another four weeks from then. Once you hit your sixth month, you have an appointment every two weeks. Any questions?"

There were none and Dr. S smiled as she went out into the hall so Sayuri could dress. A moment later and Sayuri emerged only to duck into the restroom with Reno coming to stand beside the doctor, waiting and fidgeting. Reno had to fight to suppress his concern as the sound of retching and vomiting reached him: from the sounds of it, Sayuri was being extremely ill. In an effort to clear his mind, he turned to the doctor and opened his mouth to ask a question. When he couldn't think of what to say, he closed it again, earning a smile from Dr. S.

"So, underneath that tough façade, you're just a big softie, eh?" Dr. S teased him in a low voice.

"I guess I am…" Reno finally stopped himself from fidgeting, but was still worried: Sayuri was still making unpleasant sounds, indicating that she was being violently sick. "I'm really gonna be a father?"

"Yes; you know, you're very lucky Mr. Crescent." Dr. S said with a warm and motherly smile. "I'll have the receptionist set up your next appointment and we'll go from there, okay? Relax, Mr. Crescent…we women are tough creatures! Women have babies every day and your wife seems to be a particularly strong woman; she'll do just fine." After a moment, Dr. S frowned and when she spoke, he could detect a hint of concern. "Though, I don't like how she sounds right now… Has she been ill like that before?"

"Uh…not that I was aware of… I mean yeah, she's thrown up, but never like this." Reno was no longer hiding his concern; he knocked on the restroom door before calling out to Sayuri. "Babe, you okay? Can I come in?" Sayuri didn't answer and finally seemed to have stopped puking; all Reno and Dr. S could hear were Sayuri's ragged and labored breaths. Dr. S nodded and Reno opened the door, easily breaking the lock with only a minimal amount of force. What he saw terrified him more than anything ever had before in his life: Sayuri was sitting near the toilet, head on her knees, shaking and as pale as death with a small trickle of blood issuing from one corner of her mouth, smudging on her jeans when she slowly raised her eyes to look at him. "Yuri…!" Reno was holding her in his arms before Dr. S could blink: she'd never seen a human being move so quickly. The doctor herself called for a nurse and then gave Reno a pained look.

"I'm sorry, I know you said that you would prefer to keep her outside of Junon, but it looks like we have to send her there." Reno made to protest, beginning to say how she'd lose it if they sent her there, but Dr. S cut him off. "Never in my life, Mr. Crescent, have I seen a woman so sick that she vomited blood because of becoming pregnant; I'm afraid something is seriously wrong and this hospital just isn't equipped with the proper facilities to care for her if my suspicions are right." The doctor watched as all of the color paled from Reno's already fair skin when Sayuri seemed to collapse in on herself, losing consciousness. Reno seemed to be having an extensive internal debate: several emotions crossed his features before his jaw hardened into a firm line.

"Fine…but I am warning you; she's gonna be pissed." Was all the red-headed Turk said as he lifted his fallen angel, the lost female SOLDIER, and headed for the helicopter as quickly as he could without jarring her; Dr. S had no choice but to follow, since Rufus had specifically asked her to cover Sayuri's case and was making sure she was well-paid to do so.


	9. Reaching the Breaking Point

Hi guys... ^.^; Yes, I'm still alive; I've just been doing lots of Naruto and Inuyasha fanfiction these past few months... I'm really sorry for making you guys wait so long! Please forgive me for the excessive delay, but hopefully the chapters that I will be cranking out will make up for it. I also apologize if the story becomes confusing to some readers; if you have any questions, all you have to do is ask! I will gladly reply to any and all comments or private messages.

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Fallen Angels & Lost SOLDIERs, Chapter Nine: Reaching the Breaking Point

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Rude was waiting for them as soon as they touched down in Junon; Reno had called him during the flight, just as they were passing over Fort Condor. The ever-stoic Turk had listened in silence before saying that he would inform Rufus and Vincent of the situation. Just before he'd hung up, he'd told Reno to calm down and just concentrate on getting her back to Junon as quickly and safely as possible. Reno had given him a weak and half-hearted chuckle before saying, "You got it. Oh and…don't let anyone tell Adanna; I don't want her to worry about Mommy." Rude had been true to his word and as Reno landed the chopper in a manner that none but an expert could achieve, he and Elena were ready and waiting to help if need be. Rufus and Tseng were inside, taking care of the finances, paperwork, and other details that this sudden development doubtless involved while Vincent had wordlessly taken Adanna to Cloud and Tifa. The elder Valentine had stated, in a voice quelling any and all arguments that he would stay with Adanna and make sure she was kept safe and happy…as well as unaware of her mother's suddenly fragile condition.

Doctors and nurses immediately rushed out with a gurney: before Reno could protest, Rude was restraining him as Sayuri was rushed away from him and into the maternity ward's intensive care unit. During the flight, Dr. S had been monitoring Sayuri and examining her. She had then pulled out a phone and begun making urgent sounding phone calls; when Reno asked, she stated that Sayuri was severely dehydrated and growing weaker by the moment, so she was alerting Junon as to her condition. Now that Reno thought about it, Sayuri hadn't been sleeping well and had lost a good deal of weight recently…roughly ten pounds just in the past week. This was odd because she'd always maintained a stable body weight of one-hundred and twenty-six pounds, give or take a few ounces. That alone should have set off red flags much sooner than it had, but Reno just hadn't noticed: Sayuri had hidden her illness far better than anyone could have anticipated. Vaguely, he wondered if she'd been like this with Adanna or if this was maybe something to do with it being _his_ child… Perhaps he had misread her and she HAD known she was pregnant; maybe she just hadn't wanted to worry him.

"Rude, I swear to all the gods that if ya don't fucking let go of me, I'll beat the shit outta ya! Yuri needs me!" Reno snarled as he continued to make attempts at following the hospital staff as they rapidly wheeled Sayuri farther and farther away from him.

"Reno, you need to calm down man." Rude rumbled while maintaining his hold on him as Reno slowly stopped trying to escape from his partner. "Rufus said that Sayuri would get the very best; he's gonna foot the bill and we all know that means nothing less than the best money and power can get." Elena and Rude felt their hearts wrench, watching the tortured look Reno wore even as he stopped fighting altogether before slowly slumping down onto the floor, his back pressed against the wall and his head in his hands. Tentatively, Elena reached out and stroked his hair, the way she had seen Sayuri do it a few weeks previously when they'd found Reno asleep at the older woman's desk. The red-head jumped as if he'd been burned and the other two gasped as they saw the tears that threatened to fall.

"She's so weak…she's throwing up blood, she's underweight, and she's dehydrated as hell…" Reno's voice was frighteningly even and he sounded almost broken to his comrades. "I never asked her about what it was like when she had Adanna…I don't know if this happened before or if this is my fault somehow…"

"Reno! How could you even think this is your fault?!" Elena exclaimed; her face was flushed with emotion and she had her heart on her sleeve. "There was no way anyone could have known this would happen! Don't you dare blame yourself because that'll only upset Sayuri-senpai, and it isn't true! Tell him Rude!" The blond glared up at the tall man, who sighed and knelt beside Reno.

"I never thought I would say this in this type of situation, but Elena **is **right Reno…she's **RIGHT**. Nobody could've seen this coming and you are not going to sit here and wallow in guilt for something that isn't your fault. Now, get the fuck up and act like the partner I know!" To emphasize his last words, Rude grabbed Reno's collar and gently yet forcibly hauled the shorter red-head to his feet. "Sayuri is going to be alright and you are going to get a hold of yourself. All you can do right now is wait, and we're going to stay right here with you."

--An hour later, Sayuri's hospital room--

Sayuri felt like every single fiber was burning and her throat was raw; even breathing hurt. She shifted, oh so very slowly, from her back and onto her side while keeping her eyes shielded from the harsh lights: she was dimly aware of the sickening smell of sterilization. :_I must be in Hojo's lab again…no, that's not right; Hojo is dead and Shinra in ruins. No, this must be a hospital…_: The pain in her head was growing from a dim buzz to a vicious throb; somehow, she had gotten to a place that was **swarming** with people. The emotions and thoughts of the people surrounding her, though she was alone in the room, began to grate around in her head like nails on a chalkboard: she wanted to scream but her throat hurt far too much, so she could only whimper pitifully. She desperately wished for Reno… She wished for the comfort of his presence, the scent of him -the bittersweet scent of old blood, cigarette smoke, and his body wash-, but the thing she wanted most was for him to hold her and make everything feel right again. She became vaguely aware of voices conversing nearby: she recognized one as Rufus and another as Dr. S, but the third eluded her even as it screamed with familiarity. She was only catching the end of the discussion from the sound of things.

"-that is not what I asked; I wish to know what happened when she was pregnant with Adanna. You would know, above and beyond anyone. You were the one she trusted most after the Nibelheim incident; if she'd needed help, she'd have gone running to you." Rufus was saying and though his anger was restrained, it was still detectable in his voice. "Now tell me the truth, Grim: did she come to you or anyone else from your team when she had Adanna?" :_Ah, so that's it…he's got Grim and is demanding answers, as usual._: Sayuri hissed as she pushed herself up onto one elbow. :_Goddamn, this hurts…this is much worse than when I had Adanna!_:

"I'm sorry **Sir**, but Lt. General Crescent is still my commanding officer and that information was classified, even to the former President." Sayuri felt a swell of pride for her fellow former SOLDIER; good old Lysander 'Grim' Letinav, loyal to his ex-SOLDIER commander even though both had long since given up their positions as SOLDIERs. She heard Rufus give a threatening command that sounded like a growl, but Grim just laughed. "You can try **Sir**, but then you'd have to deal with Sayuri and, in turn, Alpha: neither of them would like that. Sayuri would kill you on sight, but Alpha would take her time 'playing' with you first before killing you in the slowest, most excruciating way. Having said that, Sir, you'd better pray that if you ever cross the Lt. General that you get Sayuri and not Alpha. May I let Reno in now?" At the mention of her lover's name, Sayuri forgot her pain and began to try and rise from the hospital bed: this caused her to rip out several of the IVs and set off a vast array of painfully annoying alarms. She desperately wanted to get to Reno and flee from this suffocating place. Moments later, Reno was there and gently scolding her as a nurse slipped in beside him to turn off the alarms.

"Yo, don't push yourself, babe! Just relax and let them make you better." Reno didn't care that he would almost certainly get yelled at by the nurse as he lifted Sayuri just enough to crawl onto the decently sized bed. Lying down beside her, he wrapped his arms protectively about her unusually gaunt frame. The nurse made as if to start in on him, but the looks she got from the other Turks as they filed into the fairly large room silenced her. Almost instantly, Sayuri felt the pain in her head and body subside as she relaxed against Reno, her head on his chest, and listened to the slightly quickened but steady beat of his heart: he was very worried. Still, there was a nagging pain in her chest and a dull scratching sensation in her head: she had the distinct impression of someone scraping their nails on a door, trying to gain admittance…or possibly freedom, she couldn't tell which. She was aware that Rude, Grim, Tseng, Elena, and Rufus were standing at the foot of the bed and in the doorway, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to give a damn. Reno was there holding her, and that was all that mattered right at that moment; in a moment she would ask about Adanna, if her throat would cooperate; in a moment she would look up and scold Grim like always. Finally, her throat seemed to relax a bit and, when Reno offered her some cool water to drink, she drank the whole cup.

"Adanna?" She flinched at the sound of her own voice: she sounded like someone had poured acid down her throat, and truthfully she HAD had acid tear her throat apart…just stomach acid rather than any other kind.

"Safe with Uncle Vinny, Auntie Teef, and Uncle Cloud back at WRO HQ. Don't worry babe. Vincent and Tifa won't let anything happen to her, and Cloud had better not either or I'll cap his blond spiky ass!" Reno's voice was soft and playful, but she knew he was serious; he had become fiercely protective of Adanna in such a short space of time. She nodded and tried to ignore the feeling that someone was tapping on the inside of her skull: she succeeded for the most part and was soon drifting into the realm between sleep and wakefulness. A soft question from Reno brought her back however, and she became aware of the fact that Rufus had vanished. "Babe, Grim wants to know if he has permission to grant access to classified information. So, do I have clearance to ask about what happened when you had Adanna?"

"Grim…you should know better than to deny my crazy monkey what he wants; he'll find a way to get it and it isn't always pleasant." Sayuri mumbled tiredly around the dull pain in her throat and the drugs that were doubtlessly laced throughout her body. She could hear Reno give a half-hearted groan at the statement, and the nickname, while she heard several snickers. Luckily, Reno seemed not to mind much, due to her semi-awake and heavily drugged condition. :_Good…I would rather not have to kick anyone's ass right now, sexy lover or otherwise._: She thought sleepily, and without realizing that she was thinking just like someone she'd rather not think like.

"C-crazy m-monkey…!" Elena was gasping for air while trying to stifle her snickering. Rude just smiled; he'd been aware of the nickname, but had thus far been able to ignore it. Now, Sayuri felt a wave of irritation for Elena, but she quickly forced it back inside the confines of her mental prison she had created for unwanted thoughts, feelings, and memories. She was happy with this life that she had been given upon awakening, and she was not about to give it up without a fight…not even if that fight was against herself. She heard Grim relax and she realized that, should the need arise, Grim would willingly fight on her behalf. He had been keeping himself tensed and ready to battle out of mistrust of Rufus and the Turks; once you'd been a SOLDIER or had worked with the Turks, you were fully aware that to trust one entirely was foolish even if you were the best of friends.

"Very well, Lt. General; I will begin with saying that Leila and Quinton moved to their hometown of Kalm after the battle with Elfé of AVALANCHE; all of us found places to call home and most of us changed everything about ourselves to hide our tracks. Tseng reported that he had assassinated all of us, but Sayuri was given the job of making sure he wasn't lying. We hadn't heard from her or anyone connected to Shinra for quite some time. I began circulating information after I was sent to Nibelheim, as a personal favor to the Lt. General, that Hojo was keeping SOLDIER 1st Class Zack Fair there, with an infantryman, as part of the Jenova Project. As you may have noticed, I haven't changed a bit so when the others stopped getting reports from Nibelheim, they thought I'd been captured." Lysander, or Grim as the other Turks knew him, was speaking as if he were a recording: he had no emotion and no reactions.

"What has the Jenova Project got to do with Sayuri-senpai having Adanna?" Elena asked, earning a cursory glance from Grim before he continued.

"Everything; she had received reports from me about Hojo's experiments and she wasn't happy about it. Shortly after my last message to her, Quinton and Leila got a call from her in Kalm. She said that she was pregnant and that she could tell that something was very wrong: she had begun losing weight at an alarming pace and she couldn't keep anything down. Leila was the one who spoke with her, and she later told Quinton, and then me, that Sayuri had sounded more fragile and afraid than any of us had thought possible: Lt. General Valentine wasn't fragile and she did not get afraid." Grim was leaning against the door, preventing anyone from coming in or getting out. "Leila told her to come, since she was the one of us most proficient with healing. She told us that she couldn't just up and leave; we told her that if Hojo found out that she was pregnant, he'd have her in his lab faster than she could switch. Hojo had been trying to get Sayuri pregnant and to safely deliver a child by her ever since she'd turned sixteen." Grim scowled briefly and then sighed, continuing back onto the topic at hand.

"Suffice to say that the thought of Hojo was more than enough motivation; she showed up on their doorstep a little under two hours later. She was far too sick for them to take her anywhere else, but I showed up and told them that Hojo was catching Hell: President Shinra, and everyone else, was investigating him for Sayuri's abduction. It's a pity that he wasn't killed for that suspicion, however untrue it was; it would have saved a number of people a lot of grief. As her pregnancy progressed, we managed to find certain medicines and herbs that allowed her to keep in just enough to maintain a decently healthy weight and nutritional diet. By the time she was nearing the end of it, she was horribly pale and thin, but she was healthy. More importantly, the baby was as healthy as anyone could hope their child would be." Grim sighed again, this time with a hint of some emotion. "I brought a doctor from Junon and a few weeks later Sayuri went into labor. Through it all, she seemed to be in immense pain that had nothing to do with giving birth. We didn't understand until I received a phone call from Cissnei, telling us that Zack had been killed not far from Midgar."

"She always was close to Zack…" Reno mused thoughtfully, looking down at Sayuri where she had fallen deeply asleep in his arms. "She seemed to have a kind of bond with him that nobody else did; like a brother or something. I mean she was always inseparable from you Lysander, but that was just the way you guys were. I seriously wonder about that…I can't help but think that you're what Sayuri might be like as a guy."

"Hmph. Yeah, well…not even I got told about that one. All I know is that Sayuri and I were both raised inside Shinra by Hojo and Verdot; if I recall correctly, Verdot said he knew my old man but I didn't bother to find out anything else. Back to the point, Sayuri was not only feeling her own pain, but Zack's and that of the infantryman with him. She acted like she had severe mako poisoning, which made no sense then. Now it does, but you wanted to know about Adanna. Well, Adanna was born, kicking and screaming, maybe an hour before I got the call from Cissnei. We later found out that right when Adanna was born, Zack had probably been taking his last breath. Sayuri was now truly alone: Angeal and Zack were undeniably dead, while Genesis and Sephiroth were dead but no bodies had ever been found. She had, over the course of a few short years, lost the closest thing she'd ever had to a family. About an hour after she had Adanna, she held her once, kissed her, and named her. Then she just got up and left, telling us she'd come back for her as soon as she could; we didn't hear from or see Sayuri again for seven years. I went into hiding and everyone got told that I'd been killed when they asked subtle questions." Grim finished with a pensive look on his face; it was obvious he was troubled by his own words and thoughts. After a long silence, the former -and legally dead- SOLDIER posed a question. "Reno, where has the Lt. General been for the past seven years?"

"She was inside a mako chamber in a lab outside Gongaga, in a self-induced coma. We don't know how, but the whole place was like forty feet under, man. It's crazy, but I think she's the one who put it underground; Gods know she has enough strength for it…" Reno and the other Turks quietly continued their conversation with Lysander, the man they'd known as Grim. Sayuri, however, was oblivious to them: she was dreaming again.

…

"_Where is this place…where am I?" Sayuri spoke softly, but her voice still reverberated around the large building. It was very familiar to her, and yet, strangely foreign at the same time. She heard a soft chuckle behind her and she spun so quickly that a sharp pain shot up her leg, though she did not lose her footing. The person who met her gaze with his own, his eyes betraying the telltale mako gleam of a SOLDIER, caused her heart to stop._

"_Welcome, Alpha; or is it Sayuri now?" Sephiroth asked as he reached out and took some of her hair in his hand. "I missed you, sweet sister…Mother has been waiting for you; she has begun the Reunion again, and this time, it will not fail." Sephiroth smiled and kissed her cheek before whispering in her ear. "Does this feel familiar?" She couldn't breath, couldn't get away…he had her and wasn't going to let go. "I have always loved you, little sister…" She could feel him all over her, like it had been before…when Hojo had lied to them both and allowed Sephiroth to impregnate his own half-sister. She screamed, trying to fight him, pushing against him. Pain exploded in her chest: white hot, blinding pain that spread into the rest of her body and viciously ripped at her from the inside out. She closed her eyes and screamed against the pain until all fell silent. When she opened her eyes, Sephiroth was gone and she saw herself, but this other her looked more like a human version of Jenova. Long, blue-white hair cascaded down onto her shoulders and brushed against her calves while golden eyes laced with a fierce mako glow bore into her own. Purplish-blue veins stood out against the left side of her face and down that side of her body, spreading out onto the huge white feathery wing that extended from that shoulder while the wing on her other side was perfectly pristine._

"_Hello Sayuri…you know me, don't you? I am you…and I'm coming back. You're gonna love me; name's Alpha, by the way. If you behave, I might merge with you and let you keep that pathetic little life you have now." Alpha gave her a calculating and sadistic smile. "You know...the one you call 'happy'." Sayuri blinked and Alpha was nose to nose with her, her hand caressing her throat. "If you ever want a chance to escape…to be free of our killing lust, you must be rid of Jenova's heart; only then can you and I become what we once were. I am you and you are me; we are two halves of the same whole and one cannot be without the other. After all, our personalities had to come from somewhere…" Alpha stopped speaking suddenly and her eyes narrowed dangerously. Hissing, she released Sayuri and backed away like a cat faced with a mortal enemy. "She calls for you and has sent them to find you…but you must not give it to them! Now, Reno is calling…" The other her, Alpha, stroked her cheek as she murmured soothingly to her. "Go back to him, Sayuri. I will slowly be coming back, and you'll start remembering everything soon enough…"_

…

Sayuri woke with a scream and a start: the pain had been so very, very real that when it suddenly vanished, it left a searing throb in its wake. Reno was trying to hold her close and soothe away whatever had frightened her so badly: he could only assume it had been a nightmare. He would be glad when he could take Sayuri home, away from Junon and all the people that made her so uneasy. He cast a worried look in Rude's direction, since the others had left while Sayuri was sleeping, and the tall stoic Turk nodded in understanding before going to fetch Dr. S. "Yuri…hey, you okay babe?" Reno asked softly, only to have her whimper as she pressed closer to him.

"It was real…she's coming back, and they're coming with her…" Sayuri was speaking to herself, but Reno had a bad feeling about this. Sayuri seemed to be in constant pain, and she was beginning to curl in on herself while staying as close to him as she could; it was not something that was easily accomplished on a standard hospital bed. When Dr. S came in, Reno was ushered out with Rude half dragging him to make sure he did as instructed, which was 'wait outside'. His irritation and worry only grew the longer he was made to remain outside, and finally he was rewarded for his apprehensive patience when Dr. S emerged nearly three hours later. She looked solemn, and Reno almost would have said she was annoyed if not for the look she gave him; it was one that he knew instinctively, and it usually meant that the one wearing it felt as if they'd failed horribly at something. The sinking feeling in his heart and gut increased substantially as soon as she gave him that look, and somehow he got the _distinct_ impression that he wouldn't like what she'd have to say; his prediction was quickly reaffirmed.

"Mr. Crescent, perhaps you and I could talk a walk, so that we might discuss your wife's condition…" Dr. S said in a serious and formal tone; Reno did not object, merely fell into step beside her as they passed through various hallways and corridors, finally coming to an office marked with the doctor's name on a piece of paper tacked to the door. Once inside, she took a seat behind the desk and indicated that he should imitate her. Stiffly, Reno took a seat in a chair in front of the desk and gave her a look that plainly said she needed to cut to the chase. Sighing while rubbing one temple, she did just that. "I have been reviewing Mrs. Crescent's files at the request of one Rufus Shinra, and I have come across many anomalies among her physical records. Were you aware that your wife has not aged a single day in the past eight years?" Reno sighed; here we go with the million questions game again…he was really getting tired of people snooping into Sayuri's past, and consequently bringing Hojo back to her mind. Dr. S seemed to take his silence and his annoyed expression as some form of unspoken reply, for she gave him no chance to voice his thoughts. "Mr. Crescent, according to the dossier Mr. Shinra provided me on your wife, there are prolonged lapses of time during which she ceases to age, and then there were other times when she aged far more rapidly than any normal human should. In short, something inside her body is rejecting the fetus, without any apparent cause; it is almost as if there is another life force that should not be present, one that is determined to rid the body of anything not desired by it, whether or not Mrs. Crescent herself wishes to keep the child or not. Honestly, I do think that anyone is capable of helping her or saving the baby, with the sole exception of one: Professor Hojo might have been able to help her, but he is deceased. I realize that you might not like that idea, but it is true."

"So you're saying that unless Hojo comes back to life, nobody can help her? What are the chances of keeping the baby long enough to be viable?" Reno's training as a Turk was probably the only thing that allowed him to maintain his poker face and keep his voice level.

"Unfortunately, slim to none unless her physiology changes to accept the fetus, but that does not appear to be a likely solution. I fear that she will lose the child within the next forty-eight hours or less, since she has already shown the warning signs of a miscarriage just in the past twelve hours; her body, for whatever reason, has decided that the unborn baby has got to go, and it is taking unusual and drastic measures to make sure that goal is achieved." Dr. S watched as Reno nodded impassively before rising and leaving without another word.

~Twenty-six hours later~

Reno had fallen asleep in the chair at the foot of Sayuri's bed, and when Rude, Tseng, and Elena came to check on them it was only to find that Reno had been drugged, and that Sayuri had vanished without a trace. After waking Reno, the four Turks scoured the hospital and all of Junon for her, but to no avail; Reno was officially frantic by the time he took the chopper, ditching his fellow Turks, and began searching every other place he thought she might go. He combed Midgar and Edge, Gongaga, Nibelheim, Kalm, and Wutai; he'd even gone to a few other places simply out of the hope she'd be there, though he knew that she would not be in any of these places, for they were too easy to track her to. No, wherever she'd gone, she was making it truly difficult to be found this time. Finally, almost completely at a loss, Reno called Vincent to ask the ex-Turk and gunman if he had any clues about where she might have gone. Almost immediately, Vincent and Shelke suggested trying the Crystal Cave, which was Lucrecia's resting place. Now, standing in that same spot with Vincent by his side, Reno was angrier than ever while Vincent could only stare in mute shock: Lucrecia was gone. Just as surely as Sayuri had vanished without a trace, so had her mother, and there was nothing to give any clues as to where either woman had gone, or how for that matter. After they'd returned to the _Shera_, Reno sat just staring out the window while Cloud and the others, including Reeve and the rest of the Turks, watched him like one might watch a friendly but still feral beast; Reno was currently reminding them of a wolf that has been cared for by humans and has become tolerant of them to the point of being almost like a pet, but a wolf was still a wolf and as such would always be a wild animal capable of killing.

"Reno, I think that perhaps I have just thought of the place that Sayuri would go." Tseng suddenly said, standing and going over to the large globe that was part of the ship's navigational system. "I believe that she has gone to Banora, for that was the last place that she saw Angeal, Genesis, Sephiroth, or Zack; I cannot say which, but after she returned from the mission she said that she had seen a rogue SOLDIER there, and all of them were listed as such."

"Banora? But didn't Shinra destroy Banora village because it was Genesis and Angeal's hometown?" This question came from Elena, who had been told the information by Rude some months previously after she'd finally gained Rufus's approval for the knowledge.

"That's right!" Reno was suddenly up and moving towards Cid with renewed vigor. "Yo, Cid, let's get this damn thing turned around! Banora is the other way!"

"Ya just hold yer damn britches ya damn red-headed turkey! We gotta fill 'er up first or we ain't never gonna get to this 'Banora' place! Ya don't like it, then jump and get offa my back!" Cid snapped as he made a point of proceeding to their current destination of Midgar. "I don't give a damn if Banora is the other way, we're goin' to get fuel first!"

"Reno, I've never heard about Banora outside of that it was destroyed and was the hometown of two SOLDIER Firsts; where is it?" Elena asked while trying to distract her red-headed co-worker.

"Banora is a village on the Mideel continent, but it was secluded from much of the outside world including the rest of the continent it was on. Banora was world-famous, however, for their Banora Whites and the juice that came from those apples." It was Tseng who answered Elena's question, since Reno had simply resumed his seat with a growl and a glare at Cid. "It was destroyed because Genesis defected from SOLDIER, taking large numbers of 2nd and 3rd Classes with him; this was the Mass SOLDIER Desertion Incident, and he used those same 2nd and 3rd Classes as part of an experiment, turning them into copies of himself. He used his hometown as his main base of operations, and along with Dr. Hollander he was trying to halt his degradation which would ultimately be his death. I accompanied the SOLDIER 2nd class Zack Fair, who was promoted to 1st after that mission, to locate Genesis and two Turks who had gone missing in Banora. We found Genesis and the base he had created to generate copies of himself, but he and Hollander escaped with the machine Hollander used to make the copies. An air strike was then executed, completely destroying the village and all traces of Genesis's defection that were contained therein. After that, Genesis Rhapsodos and Angel Hewley were listed as Killed In Action."

"So, why would Sayuri-senpai go to Banora if it was destroyed?" This was from Yuffie, and Tseng sighed with obvious irritation before answering her.

"She would go there because she was sent to live there for six months, observing Angeal and Genesis before they were recruited into SOLDIER; she was only eleven years old, but she had the appearance of a sixteen-year-old and a level of maturity that was far beyond her years, courtesy of being raised by Shinra." Tseng could tell that the majority of the group were still confused, so he elaborated further. "She would go there because she felt at peace there, or at least that is what she told Verdot and myself after she returned from the ruins after the village was destroyed; she vowed that the village would be rebuilt one day because such a beautiful place wasn't meant to be full of ruins."

"She's always been fond of places without lots of people; says that all the noise they make hurts her head." Reno muttered thoughtfully before he seemed to have an epiphany of sorts. Slapping one hand down on the seat next to him, Reno gave out a whoop of sorts. "Of course! She can use the White materia, but only one who is in tune with the Planet can fully use it; that means being able to talk to the Lifestream, which in turn means that she can hear the thoughts and share the feelings of everybody around her… But talking to the Lifestream would also mean talking to the dead!" Reno smirked as he rose from his seat once again to look at Vincent, Cloud, and Tseng while the others stared at him like a madman. "She didn't go to Banora for peace and quiet, she went there to try and talk to the dead without anyone finding her!"


	10. Resurfacing

Author's Notes: ¹ - 'Capellirossi' means red-head in Italian and in this story it is Reno's real last name since the creators of FFVII never gave him one. I got the term/idea from drakonlily's fic (with her permission of course), Symphony: I Tried. Go read it! It's about Reno and it pwns all!

² - 'Sangue' means blood in Italian, and I use it as a nickname bestowed upon Reno by his mother because of his red hair and uncanny ability to attract appearances of said liquid.

Author's Comments: Yeah, here is the next bit of FALS; enjoy it and don't forget to leave me comments because I love them. The comments will be used to make certain people stay living instead of going back to the Lifestream! Okay, enough of that.

Capellirossi was yoinked, with permission as stated above, from http://www. fanfiction .net/s/1999844/1/Symphony_I_Tried (remove the spaces in your browser). Go read it now! It fucking pwns all Reno fics I've read to date.

http://shinranightrain. deviantart. com/art/FALS-Yuri-Alpha-Shinra-ID-card-113722202 - that's something I did out of boredom lol. Oh, and sorry about the repeated information and stuff; I kinda just copied and pasted the info. from DA's Artist's Comments (Author's Comments here) section after I wrote it in the actual text (the Author's Notes).

* * *

Fallen Angels & Lost SOLDIERs, Chapter 10: Resurfacing

* * *

The sound of many machines humming softly in the dark was the first sound to greet Lucrecia as she awoke, utterly disoriented. Soon, the rhythmic clacking of someone typing furiously also reached her ears and she blinked her eyes against the painful light that was now attempting to invade the darkness. "…there must be a way…editing Hollander's machine…I should be able to use Hojo's DNA samples…bring them back…" Lucrecia heard these snippets of conversation, though admittedly only one voice was speaking at any given time. "Jenova cells…the reunion theory…applies to all carriers…have Jenova's heart will bring them here…" Stiff and confused, Lucrecia slowly sat up to find herself in a comfortable bed that had been dragged into a large laboratory by sheer force from the looks of things; the lab looked like it had been put together by an expert from a shambled mass of rubbish. She could actually smell the decay of her surroundings: rotting wood, rusting metals, and the distinctive smell of long extinguished fires. Looking further at her environment, Lucrecia was startled by the appearance of a young woman, probably only twenty-five at best, with long bluish-white hair sitting at an old computer console that looked as if it had seen much better days.

"Um…excuse me for interrupting, but how did I get here? Where is here for that matter?" Lucrecia asked politely, though her caution was obvious. The figure of the young woman stilled before she whirled around on the small computer stool; golden eyes laced with the glow of mako met the soft brown ones of Lucrecia, and her heart paused in its normal rhythm for a fraction of a second. She knew that glow, and she knew those eyes from visions she'd had…this was a woman that she should be wary of, for she was like Sephiroth.

"Ah, it is good to see that you've awoken Dr. Crescent; this one has been waiting for you to revive for several hours now. Of course, you probably have no clue as to this one's identity, but perhaps that is for the better. You need only know this one as Alpha, for that is the name that Professor Hojo gave to this one. No other name is of any importance now. You are probably wondering why you have been brought here and awakened, are you not?" The young woman was absolutely stunning now that Lucrecia got a good look at all of her, and her voice was simply hypnotizing; her eyes pierced into the soul, and her hair glistened like starlight no matter how one looked at it. "Please, do not be afraid; allow this one to provide an explanation." Lucrecia watched as the woman who referred to herself as 'this one' and told her to call her Alpha turned back to the computer and quickly pulled up various files and images; some of them were easy to recognize while others were not. "We are currently in Banora, and these are files and dossiers that contain all the information available on the events that have occurred, and the people involved in those events, since you sealed yourself in Crystal Cave; please, feel free to look and to ask this one any questions you may have. Unfortunately, this one has other things that must be done, but you need only press this button-" Alpha indicated a button on the console and then a device attached to her belt. "And this one will be able to speak to you even if this one is no longer on the premises of the facility in which you are currently residing. Please forgive this one for seeming rude, but this one must leave you alone now; the tasks this one must perform should not take more than two days at most, but if you need this one you have only but to press a button and call for 'Alpha'." With that, the young woman whom she was to call Alpha left through a door that quickly resealed itself; an electronic lock requiring a pass code told Lucrecia that she wouldn't be using that door.

"So, I guess all I can do is read these files and examine the data while she's gone…" Lucrecia sighed when her thoughts inadvertently turned to Sephiroth, then to Vincent, and finally to the two secrets she'd tried to keep hidden from Hojo. When she brushed her fingertips over the keyboard of the console, she started at the first file that presented itself for her inspection: "Jenova Project - Project S-1/A". Curiosity piqued, Lucrecia opened the computer file and began to sift through the contents.

_**Jenova Project - Project S-1/A**_

_**Experiment performed by Professor Hojo**_

_**Experiment Goal****: Create a female compatible with the Jenova cells to be the perfect match and equal of Project S.**_

_**Specimen****: Sayuri Crescent/Valentine, renamed Alpha for the purpose of the experiment.**_

_**Specimen Number****: JA-XIII-00; Jenova Project Alpha, Trial Thirteen, Specimen Zero.**_

_**Specimen Gender****: Female**_

_**Date of Birth****: July 6**_

_**Sire****: Unknown, but suspected to be the Turk Vincent Valentine: deceased.**_

_**Dam****: Dr. Lucrecia Crescent: deceased.**_

_**Specifics of Experimentations****: Initial experiment - genetically altered with Jenova cells, age one; successful. Secondary experiment - exposed to mako and giving liquid materia injections directly into the bloodstream to enhance fighting capabilities, age seven; successful. Tertiary experiment - surgical implantation of Jenova's heart into the specimen's chest cavity, connecting the foreign organ to the specimen's own heart to test compatibility with Jenova, age twelve; successful. Fourth experiment - breeding with another SOLDIER, age sixteen; failure - Specimen sent to Deepground for six months of rehabilitation. Age eighteen, Specimen continues to exceed all expectations. Age twenty-four, Specimen vanishes and is presumed dead.**_

_**Notes****: Specimen reached physical maturation of a sixteen-year-old by age eight; recruited into SOLDIER by age six. SOLDIER 2****nd Class by age ten, true age kept classified. At age eight, all physical aging ceased until the eve of Specimen's sixteenth birthday, whereupon physical aging resumed. However, from age sixteen forward, the Specimen only aged one year for every two that passed; truly unique and vexing, for the effect has not been duplicated in any other experiments. Promoted to SOLDIER 1st Class at age sixteen; given rank of Lieutenant General at age seventeen, and is considered second only to Sephiroth in strength and ability. Specimen has been reassigned to the Turks after the Nibelheim Incident and Sephiroth's death. Specimen has defected from the Turks, vanishing without a trace four years after reassignment; Shinra blames it on faulty training or perhaps a genetic error in the Jenova cells. Specimen is a failure and this project will be abandoned, for all other female specimens have died within forty-eight hours of the Initial Experiment.**_

Lucrecia stared at the file in mute horror as a series of images flitted across the screen, all labeled 'Specimen Alpha': each and every picture showed two girls, but it was quickly brought to her attention that the girls were in fact the same person when a video file attached to the dossier began to play. It showed a girl with dark, wavy bloody-black hair and vivid green eyes during a training simulation; after a few moments, a command was issued by Hojo and the girl's appearance changed before Lucrecia's eyes. No longer was the dark haired girl standing there, but the young woman who had greeted Lucrecia when she'd first awoken not but a half an hour ago, Alpha. After reading the whole file and studying it intensely, Lucrecia was convinced that the young woman was her daughter, the baby girl she'd created using her own ovum and a sample of Vincent's DNA; it had been a last attempt at an apology of sorts, but Lucrecia truly had wanted to give Vincent a child. Unexpectedly, Lucrecia had not only a daughter from her little pet project, but a baby boy had been born as well; they had not actually been born before she'd sealed herself in Crystal Cave, but by examining the DNA of the embryos, she'd been able to tell the genders of the two children that she hoped would be born. It seemed that luck had not been on her side, though. Hojo had found them and taken at least her daughter as a specimen for his experiments, just as he had Sephiroth. She knew not if the male embryo had survived or what had become of him if he had, but she pushed away those thoughts as she began going through the files that detailed everything she'd missed while she'd been sealed away.

~Two days later, Banora~

When she'd awakened to find herself in a hospital room in Junon, with a Turk sitting by her bedside, she had instantly drugged the sleeping Turk; she did not want to be pursued until it was unavoidable. After all, she was a SOLDIER and she had no need of the Turks; no, what she needed was to deal with the fact that she was keenly aware of someone searching for her, and that whomever the persons in question were, they wanted something from her that could only result in her death. Intent on avoiding this, she formulated a plan to allow her access to certain people who had either the knowledge or the skills necessary to help her in the coming battle. So far, she had proceeded to awaken and lock them into rooms with computer consoles, one after another, until she had finally gone through all of them: it had been far too easy to modify Hollander's machine to generate a body based solely on DNA samples from deceased persons. It had been a completely different matter, however, to make the appropriate alterations to the blueprints she had for one of Hojo's machines that had allowed the body to mature to the desired age. After all, Hojo's prototypes of the machine had all been utter failures, for he had not seen the fundamental mistakes within the very design: to age a human faster than the natural hormonal and metabolic rates allowed, one first had to achieve balance within the specimen and maintain that level of homeostasis throughout the entire procedure.

Hojo had never been able to do this, since it was by far more than a simple task; however, she had succeeded where Hojo had failed, using some of her own DNA to allow just enough of a tolerance to the process in those whom she was cloning and aging. Now, she had five rooms with computer consoles set up, each sealed with complex electronic locks of her own design and housing one of the five whom she'd technically raised from the dead. Dr. Lucrecia Crescent had merely been the first, since she had not actually been dead and had been the easiest one to access. Now four others were in rooms identical to the one she'd put Lucrecia in, and she was merely waiting for them to all finish perusing the files and dossiers of people and events that had held importance since they'd last been counted as among the living. Of course, she had also recreated Professor Hojo, but that had been more for her own personal desire to fulfill a vendetta against the man; Hojo was heavily sedated and locked in a cold, damp cell in a corner of her little base of operations.

She knew better than to use the technique and the machines to try and recreate Genesis or Sephiroth, for her instincts told her that both of them would be returning on their own all in due time. So, she sat and waited for the buzz of her belt pager to tell her that all of them had finished: Angeal was in one room, Zack another, Cissnei a third, Aerith a fourth, and Lucrecia had since been let out of her room and placed into another to wait. Finally, there was a series of beeps and buzzing sounds from a console, but it was not the one she'd been waiting for; frowning, she rose and walked over to the security console to see that someone had tripped one of the alarms in the apple orchard…and they were heading towards her current location at a rather alarming pace. As a large crash and the sound of shattering glass reached her ears, she realized that the humans on the screens were not her only problem. Scowling, the woman currently known as Alpha pulled up one of the camera feeds from the old factory high above her head. She scanned the video feed only to find that a pair of behemoths had apparently been attracted by the presence of the food that she'd brought in from her escapades into the nearby countryside. Snarling, she ignored the buzzing from her belt that told her at least two of her 'guests' had finished with the consoles as she quickly made her way through the complex pathways that led back up to the apple juice factory of Banora village from her make-shift base. She duly noted that the figures of the people, probably Shinra personnel, were getting dangerously close to the factory now, and quickened her pace before flipping off her PHS, which she had rigged to get direct feed from all of her cameras.

Just as she was entering the factory from the hidden passage that led to her 'base', the behemoths seemed to have pinpointed the strongest source of whatever had attracted them because they were both closing in on her location far too quickly for her liking. She could hear people shouting both behind the behemoths and herself, but ignored it as she snarled threateningly at the beasts. Seemingly caught off-guard, the two monsters hesitated in their advance while she lunged down and under them, a tactic that was never recommended for fighting a behemoth…unless you were Alpha of SOLDIER. As she slid under the first behemoth, she caught it by the lower jaw and used the force with which she'd thrown herself under it to completely toss it off-balance. Behemoth A went skidding into a large stack of barrels that came crashing down on it; while it tried to free itself, Behemoth B snapped its jaws at Alpha, who hissed in return as she deftly grasped the upper jaw in one hand and the lower in the other. Using sheer brute strength, she wrestled the much larger Behemoth to the ground and twisted its neck as hard and swiftly as she could: the sickening crunch as its neck shattered was ignored by its killer as the first Behemoth gave a roar and freed itself from the fallen barrels. Alpha was aware that there were people watching, but her SOLDIER training told her to ignore them in light of the larger and more problematic Behemoth that remained; one did not usually try to fight a Nibel Wolf in front of a Dragon's lair, after all. Despite the obvious fact that the Behemoth was _at least_ twice her own size, Alpha defiantly stared the beast down: it roared at her and she smirked as she copied its movements when it began to try and dodge past her, always remaining between it and any hope of escape. Enraged and surrounded by humans, the Behemoth lunged at the lone human that stood between it and the nearest escape route it could take: back out the hole in the wall that the two monsters had made when they'd broken into the abandoned building.

"Yuri, move yo!" Vaguely, she registered the shout and the owner of the voice, but it was of no consequence as she allowed the Behemoth to pin her to the floor. Smirking up at the huge, dumb beast was probably the last thing any normal, or even sane, person would do in her current situation, but Alpha was not a normal person; she was a SOLDIER First Class, and she was the Lieutenant General.

"Never hesitate, JA-XIII-00; you are a SOLDIER." Hojo! He was the only one who ever called her by her Specimen Number. How had that damned scientist gotten out of the cell she'd thrown him into? Oh, well…no matter; she would deal with him soon enough. Snarling she punched the Behemoth right between the eyes as it made to tear her head off in its jaws, and the result was one very dead Behemoth collapsing on top of her. Cursing under her breath, she used a Master Hell Firaga to incinerate the corpses of the two behemoths before easily springing from her back to her feet in one fluid movement. Stalking dangerously over to Hojo, she was pleased when the slimy bastard flinched at her obvious killing intent, no matter how slight the flinch was.

"One day, you are going to die screaming Professor…and I am going to watch." Her voice was soft, almost seductive actually, but it had such a dangerous edge to it that it may as well have been the deadliest poison known to mankind as far as anyone hearing it was concerned. The presences of Lucrecia, Angeal, Zack, Cissnei, and Aerith were not lost on Alpha, but she had a bigger problem to worry about as she rounded on the group that she had seen approaching on her surveillance cameras: she easily recognized some of them, while others were a bit more hazy. Patiently, she waited for the chaos that was bound to arise to set in as the two groups seemed to notice and recognize each other for the first time. Scoffing lightly, she didn't allow any of them to move before she stalked out of the factory and towards the apple orchard; she took no heed of the red-headed Turk that followed after her, closely tailed by a man she knew as Vincent Valentine, all but strangling Hojo as he drug the man with him, and Dr. Crescent. Scowling as she plucked a Dumbapple from one of the trees as she came in to the orchard, she took up an idle and nonchalant perch on the roots and trunk of the same tree to wait for the three to catch up while taking a bite out of the apple: whatever they wanted to say had better be fucking worth it because she was already in a foul mood.

"Yo, Yuri…what the hell is going on?" She eyed the red-headed Turk critically, frowning when something in the back of her mind whispered that he was someone important… "You just up and fucking vanished out of the hospital in Junon! You can't do doing shit like that now, yo!" Raising one fine, bluish-white eyebrow as she mused over the red-head's apparent self-proclaimed say in her life, she smirked in a manner that spoke volumes of her boredom and impatience.

"And your opinion counts for…what precisely?" Her tone was one of curiosity and boredom, an interesting mix to be sure, as her gaze shifted over to Vincent, Lucrecia, and then settled on Hojo. "Ah, I see you brought the mad scientist with you…good, I'd hate to have to hunt him down again. It gets so very boring when you must chase a moving target that is not only slippery and insane, but a complete coward as well; the dear Professor here gets so very predictable that it is unbearably dull to play 'tag' with him."

"Yes, well…when you speak of 'tag' Alpha, it is the kind that involves you using your claws and shifting into your Jenova form; anyone who does not flee from you in that state is an utter fool." Hojo quipped snidely from his place at Vincent's side. The only thing preventing Hojo from fleeing was the fact that he knew that if Vincent didn't shoot him and Reno didn't catch him, then Alpha most certainly would trap and kill him after letting him have a ten minute head start. A full throated and sultry laugh was her response to Hojo's words, and she saw the confusion in the red-head's eyes as she stood while tossing the core of the Banora apple high above her head. Moving with speed and fluidity that was not only inhuman but terrifying, she brought one hand up in a classic sword stroke without a the sword; the neatly sliced halves of the apple core fell to the ground, one half on either side of her. Bringing her hand back down ever so slowly, her nails glinted with juice from the core: the nails, which had been reasonably long to start with, were now like six inch blades extending from each fingertip that slowly rounded out to fine claw-like points at the tips.

"You mean these claws that you gave to me, Professor? I wasn't aware that you fancied the game so much…perhaps we can play again soon. Unfortunately, I can hear 'Mother' calling for me, and you know how I hate to disappoint." With a smirk that could have made a full grown man and harden war veteran swoon, the woman known as Alpha turned and began to walk away. She snarled when the red-head caught her wrist, twisting it firmly but gently as he pulled her back to face him.

"Yuri…don't do this again, yo." He whispered, his gaze begging something of her that she could not quite grasp. "Don't walk out on me again, not when Adanna's waiting for you to come home."

"Your words are supposed to mean what to me Turk?" Alpha snapped viciously, aware that she was being cruel to this man, and that he apparently cared about her more than she was currently comfortable with. She knew him, yes; but right now she was Alpha and she had a job to do. A SOLDIER follows orders; there is no room for anything else, and she was Alpha, the best SOLDIER that had ever been aside from Sephiroth. The secret to her strength and skill was simple: she could lock everything behind the persona of Alpha that Shinra had forced upon her when they made her a SOLDIER. Alpha had no compassion, no mercy, and no room for affection or love; Alpha was only a being of sadism, cruelty, anger, rage, hate, pain, blood, murder, death, and killing. If she administered mercy, it was not intended as such, but rather as punishment. Deep in her heart of hearts and in the back of her mind, Alpha felt her true self cringe and sink into despair at the look in Reno's eyes: inside the guise of Alpha, Sayuri was dying as she was forced to put on the mask and personality of Alpha out the interest of self-preservation, only to have to push Reno away again. Reno just looked into her eyes for a long moment before dropping her hand as if he'd been holding onto something that scalded everything it touched.

"Alright, I get it yo…" Reno muttered coldly as he took a step back from her while Cloud, with Angeal, Zack and the others, came to stand nearby. "You're the best and this is how you roll, so fucking roll bitch." Reno took out a pack of cigarettes and tossed them with a Zippo at her feet before turning and leaving the rest of the group to stare, dumbstruck by what they had only seen; he had spoken far too lowly for anyone but her to hear him.

"Hey, Capellirossi¹!" Reno froze but did not turn to look at her; Sayuri was the only one who knew his real last name outside of the Turks. "Watcher bitch, cause if I catch the Turks following me, there'll be hell to pay! Got that Sangue²?" Now Reno did turn to stare quite openly, only to find her sauntering away while waving one hand back over her shoulder in dismissal; Sangue was a nickname his mother had used on him a long time ago, and Sayuri was the ONLY one who knew that. That meant that somewhere inside this strange and savage woman, Sayuri was still there and wanted him to know it.

"Reno…?" It was Elena's turn to ask a half-spoken question, and Reno just shrugged as he noted that Alpha had picked up the cigarettes and the Zippo. "Where is Sayuri-senpai going? Is she well enough to be leaving like this?"

"Nah, you got is all wrong Elena. That ain't Yuri; that bitch is Alpha and I now remember why I didn't like her." Reno said as he met Tseng and Rude's gazes: Alpha had been before Elena's time as a Turk, but her sister Sophia would have distinctly remembered Alpha. A moment later found Cissnei advancing on Reno and punching him hard on the arm.

"Reno, how dare you call Alpha a bitch? Admit it, you're just pissed she stiffed you!" Cissnei was already teasing him about his less than monogamous lifestyle habits from the last time she'd seen him, and she'd only just been reunited with her fellow Turks. "I have to admit, though, it's curious about how she just took off like that without warning. Usually she's good for a round of drinks or a smoke with you and Xander; although, I don't suppose Xander's still a Turk."

"Sorry to interrupt this little reunion ladies and gentlemen, but I have some information that is of grave importance." When Grim spoke and appeared next to Vincent, most of the group started; the exceptions were Angeal, Cloud, Vincent, Reno, Rude, and Tseng. Chuckling in mild sadistic humor, Grim continued while he handed something to Reno. "That's a present for you from our dear President; says she won't go to bed until she talks to you." Reno blinked at the cell phone in a mixture of affection and distaste: it was a very dark shade of pinkish red, with a big heart on it the exact shade of his eyes. He had to give Adanna credit because the girl had apparently taken great care in picking out a phone just for her Daddy to carry so she could call him whenever she wanted; Rufus had no doubt gotten a similar phone from the irrepressible seven year old. As if on cue, the phone rang with one of the cutesiest ringers Reno had ever heard; sighing in resignation to the snickers of the others, he answered it while those who Alpha had 'revived' looked on it mild fascination at a Turk using a, for lack of a better word, girly phone.

"Daddy, I miss you!" The shrill, childish voice of Adanna easily carried over the phone and could be heard by everyone. "When are you and Mommy coming home? Papa says you're in Junon, but I don't think you are; if you were in Junon, then I could just come see you whenever I want as long as one of those WRO people went with me… Daddy, is Mommy with you? I wanna talk to her." :_Ah, crap…_: Reno thought acidly as the little girl asked for Sayuri; steeling himself for the whining and possibly crying that would come with his answer, Reno ignored the looks he was getting of mixed sympathy, confusion, and amusement.

"I'm sorry, baby girl…Mommy isn't with me right now. Maybe you can talk to her later okay? You aren't giving your Papa a whole lot of hell are you?" Reno's entire disposition had changed from Turk to father in the blink of an eye: it was astounding. "I don't want to have to ground you as soon as I get back, you hear? Remember what I told you: ruining the President's office is not allowed unless you know your Papa has spares of everything you trash." Wait, there was a bit of the classic Reno, telling a kid that it was okay to trash Rufus's office as long as she didn't ruin anything irreplaceable.

"You realize Reno that anything she breaks can be docked from your salary…" Came the subtle threat of Rufus.

"Hey, now! Remember who kept you from drowning yourself in booze a week ago, boss? I only recall one person who had the nerve to dunk you in a bathtub filled with frigid water, and his name was Reno of the Turks." Reno retorted in a rather snide tone. "'Sides, Adanna probably would be mad at you if you punish me for something she does. More importantly, Sayuri scares me way more than anything you could ever threaten me with!"

"Daddy, do I have to go to bed?" Adanna's voice overrode Rufus's as he told her it was time to get ready for bed.

"Yeah, you have to go to bed kiddo; remember that your Papa is just like me, which means you have to listen to him, okay?" Adanna mumbled an 'okay' at Reno's playful chiding. "Okay then, now off to bed. Love ya kiddo and I'll bring Mommy home real soon, okay?"

"Love you more Daddy." Adanna paused and then yawned as she spoke again. "Daddy? Tell Mommy I don't mind, okay? She'll understand." Reno didn't understand what the child meant, but nevertheless promised to tell Sayuri. Hanging up, he noticed the looks of the others and shrugged.

"So, what else didja need Grim? You'd never come all the way out here ta the middle o' nowhere just ta bring me a phone from my kid." Grim chuckled at Reno and gave a rather theatrical bow to the red-head.

"You know me well, Reno; I did come here for other business. As you may have noticed, Angeal and Zack are both once again alive. As Firsts, they can help with a small problem we've encountered in the Northern Crater and Midgar; remnants." Grim cut right to the chase, and was rewarded by outbursts from everyone who had fought Kadaj and his gang. "Simmer down and let me finish! Yes, I meant remnants as in like Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz; however, I also meant that the three of them seem to have resurfaced along with two new remnants that are on a whole other playing field. They call themselves Pheros and Lokias, and believe me when I say they mean business. They are after Alpha because she holds Jenova's heart, and I'm willing to bet that they're not at all against killing her for it. Second problem: we discovered a cavern under the old Shinra HQ that connected to Deepground. I can tell you right now that Weiss's body was never found, but that if a body had been left behind it would have landed in that cavern; more importantly, we found evidence that Genesis might have been being held there. He was transferred to Deepground after the final confrontation with Zack in Banora. There, the Tsviets were injected with his cells and that is why only they were truly dangerous; the others were just mako enhanced flunkies. Now we have the problem of facing remnants hell-bent on a reunion and maybe even Genesis with Weiss." When Grim finished speaking, there was a nearly unanimous round of, "Fuck…".


	11. Losing My Mind

Author's Note(s):

¹ Sayuri and Alpha are the same person, thus the names are interchangeable. Alpha is the personality that Sayuri created to keep herself sane while under the control of Shinra and at the mercy of Hojo. Think of Alpha as being the same as Chaos and you'll do fine folks. Alpha has a form, called her 'Jenova' form, that is something of a cat-like werewolf that has the capacity to sprout wings and take flight; this is actually a result of having been merged with the Alpha gene, similar to Vincent's limit breakers, and there are four stages of this transformation that are essentially the same as limit breakers are for Vincent in the original FFVII. The first is where her physical appearance changes from her normal one to the one everyone knows as Alpha(described in the first few paragraphs of the last chapter). The second is where she actually gets fangs, a tail, and retractable claws(again, mentioned/described last chapter) while the veins on the left side of her body and face(extending onto her left wing and described in previous chapters) become immensely more pronounced by rising above the skin and becoming purplish-blue in color; her speed/agility and strength dramatically increase as well. The third stage is where she is half-way between human and beast/monster, an anthro if you will: the veins vanish to be replaced with bone-like armor covering her torso while leaving her arms and legs totally bare. The fourth and final stage is the full-fledged anthro form, completed by the simple addition to the third stage of wings and a bad attitude.

* * *

Fallen Angels & Lost SOLDIERs, Chapter Eleven: Losing My Mind

* * *

It had been interesting since the last time anyone had seen Alpha¹, in Banora, Reno decided thoughtfully. Zack and Cissnei had both adamantly insisted on looking for her and bringing her back by force, but Reno and the others who knew her well had just shrugged while saying "She'll come back when she's damn good and ready, so stop asking us why we haven't gone after her already."

"S'not like she can't take care of herself, now izit?" Reno spoke in an unconcerned and lazy fashion, slipping back into his usual Midgar Slums pattern of speech in front of Cloud and the others: one thing about Reno was that he did no less than was necessary because to do otherwise only made people expect, and therefore _want_, more from you. It was not that Reno was stupid, not by any means; the red-head possessed a very high IQ and a photographic memory, but found that with most people it was simpler just to act like the gang leader he had been before the Turks drafted him. This meant that he spoke in a manner that one would expect from a slum rat, rather than the highly analytical and sophisticated mannerisms he used only around those who knew him well, such as Tseng, Rude, Rufus, and Sayuri/Alpha. "Seriously though, she's formerly one o' da best SOLDIERs that Shinra has ever produced, but she's more'n jus' that; Sayuri's a Turk, an' a Turk don' just get capped by some random loony who wants one o' their hearts. Whaddaya think Grim; have I got it jus' 'bout right?" Grim sighed, rubbing one temple in obvious annoyance: he had been the one stuck looking after Hojo, much to his displeasure.

"Yes, Reno…you've got it just about right." The somber ex-SOLDIER scowled as Reno took his cigarette away with a firm 'No smokin' in 'ere!', and put it out for the fourth time since they'd returned to the WRO headquarters not but two hours previously: Rufus, with Adanna, was currently en route from Junon. At the moment, the living and sitting rooms of the large condo style quarters that Reno had shared with Sayuri were occupied by Cloud, Zack, Aerith, Tifa, Vincent, Lucrecia, Angeal, Reeve, Cissnei, Grim, Nanaki, and the Turks; Grim was sitting next to a large portable metal holding cell that contained Hojo, who was currently shouting at the top of his lungs for the fiftieth time since he'd been thrown into it.

"JA-XIII-01 LET ME OUT OF THIS BOX THIS INSTANT! JA-XIII-01, I KNOW THAT YOU CAN HEAR ME!!" Hojo's voice was, unfortunately, only slightly muffled by the thick walls of the metal box, and Grim was losing his patience all too rapidly. Finally, he pulled a triple-barreled gun from his hip and fired point-blank at the only window on the box: the rounds went straight through the bullet proof glass and embedded in Hojo's left shoulder. The scientist moaned in agony as he slid down the wall of his prison, making Grim smirk as he reloaded the gun.

"_I_ know that _you _know I can hear you, _Professor_…but you are grossly mistaken if you think I give a damn about _**your**_ state of comfort. Were it my choice, I'd be using you for target practice; however, the Lt. General wants you alive, so alive you stay. If I were you though, I would seriously consider shutting the fuck up before I blow off something more valuable…like your dick, for instance." Grim calmly re-holstered his gun after inspecting it carefully, and then looked at Hojo with pure loathing and malice. "Regretting training us so thoroughly, perhaps? I seem to recall getting chipped, so that a single hair out of place could earn either of us one nasty ass shock. You made us this way Hojo, so sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor like a good little psychopath." Now his lips twitched with the hint of a smile. "Still you wonder why Alpha hates you so much… Ha! Well excuse us for having enough common sense to think beyond what we were told; to wonder _why_ the orders were given rather than to simply carry them out like good little soldiers. Gen was the one who finally got past all that brain-washing you shoved down Seph's throat; it's no wonder he went fucking insane, finding out the truth the way he did. Actually, it's a wonder that the rest of us didn't go homicidal or psychotic either; that's excluding Gen of course." It was at this point that he noticed the looks the others were giving him: some, such as Reno and Angeal, were of understanding and even appreciation, while the rest were confusion and shock. "What? Any of you have a problem with my method of shutting him up?" Grim asked irritably as he took another cigarette and succeeded in getting a single drag off of it before Reno snatched it with a growl.

"Grim, I said no smokin' in 'ere dammit! Adanna'll be home soon!" Reno viciously put out the barely smoked cigarette while Grim finally conceded and handed over the whole pack with a snarled, 'Fine, but I want those back later.' "Don' worry, man…I'll make sure ya getcher cigs back just as soon as she's sleepin'. Speakin' of, I think that's them now." Sure enough, as the words left Reno's lips the door to his and Sayuri's quarters was opened and Adanna came hurtling into the living room as fast as her nearly eight year old body could go, pointedly ignoring Rufus's admonitions to slow down.

"Daddy, you finally came home!!" Reno was instantly engulfed in the long, thick mass that was Adanna's wavy blond hair as the little girl flung herself into his lap, her arms wrapping possessively about his neck. "I missed you! Papa says that I can have a puppy, but I think he's fibbing because Mommy won't let me keep Cait Sith as it is." Amazed once again by the near adult-like intelligence and maturity the girl employed, Reno blinked at a total loss for a few minutes, his brain furiously trying to find a way to respond to Adanna's words: Tifa saved him.

"Adanna, sweetie, that's because Cait Sith is a robot that Reeve built; you can't just keep him for a pet. You'd have to ask Reeve's permission first!" Tifa smiled at the girl, who frowned before looking Reeve dead on with a serious face.

"Pawpaw Reeve, can I have Cait Sith?" Not only was her nickname for the former Head of Urban Development a surprise to most of the group, but the ease and confidence with which the question was posed floored Zack, Cissnei, Tifa, and Elena. Reeve looked like he had just gotten stuck between a spiky rock and a very hard place: smiling as apologetically as he could, he informed Adanna that no, she couldn't have Cait Sith, but that she probably could have the puppy her Papa had promised her. Pouting, Adanna returned her attention to Reno while those who had never met Adanna continued to stare in fascinated shock. "Daddy, can I really have a puppy like Papa says I can?" Unable to reply due to laughing too hard, Reno just nodded as a chuckle finally escaped and escalated into a laugh. Finally, an hour later, Reno stood with the drowsy little girl in his arms and put her to bed in her room with Nanaki keeping an eye on her door to make sure she didn't sneak out of her room to eavesdrop. Returning to the rest of the group that had gathered to discuss the current situation, Reno sighed at the look Cissnei gave him: it was one of obvious curiosity and downright mischief.

"Reno, you have a daughter! That's so cute! I never would have figured you for the type to have kids!" Cissnei got a glare as Reno found Sayuri's hidden stash of her homemade liquor, Black Alpha: the shit was 200 proof and even with the exotic taste Sayuri had given it, it burned your insides to high hell. Pouring a decent amount into a medium-sized glass, Reno carefully took sips from it: it was the only alcohol he did not shoot, swallow, or down in less time than it took to order it because if he did, he'd be on his ass in less than an hour from only one small glass. "Her mother must be a real supermodel for her to have gotten all that blond hair, though…she couldn't have gotten that from you." Reno frowned as he took another sip from his glass before seating himself on the couch across from the armchair that Rufus had laid claim to: Rufus was obviously annoyed by the topic of conversation, but only Reno, Tseng, Rude, Reeve, and Elena were picking up on it. Shrugging, Reno decided that it couldn't hurt to tell the truth; Adanna already knew that Rufus was her real father anyway.

"Yeah, well I didn't contribute much in the genetics department; Adanna is mine in name alone. You want to compare her to her father, then start harping on our dear young President here." Rufus visibly paled by five different shades of white before glaring at Reno in a fine flushed fury. "That's where she gets the blond hair and blue eyes from, not me or her mom." Now Reno took more than a sip from the glass: he took a solid pull and set it down on the table to sit unattended for a few minutes. God, how he'd needed that drink…the buzz of the alcohol was starting to deaden the throb in his head and the ache in his body that had come the second that Sayuri- no, the second that **Alpha** had turned her back on him. "Enough about my personal life; we've got bigger problems to talk about."

~One Month after the Banora 'Incident'~

The pain was such that for any other, it would be nigh unbearable; however, Alpha had been trained since infancy not to feel or acknowledge pain, much less show it. Well over a month had passed since she'd left Banora, and she had already canvassed the entire Northern Continent before combing through a two hundred mile radius around Midgar: there had been no signs of anything that didn't belong there, much less Genesis, any Sephiroth remnants, or the possibly existent surviving Deepground operatives she was searching for. Furious and more than a little vexed by the absence of anyone to kill, Alpha decided to go to the one place she hated more than Midgar: Nibelheim. So, that was how it came to be that she was sitting in the main room of the Shinra Mansion when a group of three silver haired young men came upon her in a triangle formation: she moved faster than they did, and in a matter of seconds the long-haired one was lying either dead or unconscious on the floor…she didn't care which. The biggest one was caught by the throat, hanging helplessly with his feet several inches above the ground, while the smallest one had been tossed effortlessly aside unharmed: she knew that they were Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz, but it made no difference to her whether they were remnants or not. Even as remnants, they were still parts of Sephiroth, and as such they could bring him back as long as one of them fused with something of Jenova. She had been very close to Sephiroth before he lost his mind, but there were some things that had not sat well with her even then: she had always suspected Hojo of something, and had warned Sephiroth against trusting the Head of the Science Department so much. Admittedly, nobody _liked_ Hojo…it was more of a horrified fascination, and respect for the fact that he could easily execute punishments far worse than death in most cases.

There had been one very good example of this in the form of a running joke, both when Alpha had been a SOLDIER and when she'd become a Turk under the name of Sayuri, known as 'the Shit List'. This was a list of people in Shinra whose shit you had to take, not because you liked them or give a damn what they thought, but because you liked to breathe: Hojo was always somewhere on everyone's Shit List, with the exceptions of Rufus and his father, President Shinra. Alpha's list had been short and precisely to the point: **1)President Shinra; 2) Rufus Shinra; 3) Sephiroth; 4) Hojo; 5) Heidegger - only if someone in the top four says so; 6)Angeal - optional; and 7) Genesis - optional**. Her Shit List had always made Angeal laugh and the one time she'd given Zack a peek at it, he'd been confused until Angeal explained in simple terms that "_A Shit List is the list of people whose shit you have to take not because it's your job or you care about the person in any manner, but because you enjoy breathing and they have the power to end that ability in the owner of the aforementioned Shit List. Basically, anyone on a Shit List higher than you, if they ask you to jump you say 'How high, when, and where?' all because you are fond of breathing. And even so, generally nobody has to take Heidegger's shit unless someone on the top of the Shit Lists say so; that's why it's funny."_ The fact that she had actually written in 'only if someone in the top four says so' next to Heidegger's name was the only thing that made Angeal laugh, and once it had been explained to him, Zack couldn't stop laughing either. Everyone in Shinra had a Shit List, some people just hadn't known who was on their's. Now, faced with Sephiroth's possible second Reunion and recreation, she was not keen on letting any of the remnants after her survive long enough to achieve their goal. Unfortunately, she had _**NOT**_ been expecting the two others who, like Kadaj and his gang, appeared out of nowhere with their silver hair and 'kill-Alpha' mindsets: one of the newcomers had caught her only barely off guard and succeeded in grabbing her by the throat.

While gasping and trying to pry his hand off, subsequently having released Loz, Alpha had felt the sheer strength this one employed as his hand tightened its hold on her windpipe and vocal cords: she couldn't make a sound, and her world had slowly started to darken around the edges of her vision. With a guttural snarl low in her throat, Alpha had somehow managed to use the last of her breath and a fair deal of force to bring her boots up into a powerful kick to his chest. Stunned and winded, he'd released her and she was gone as quick as that. Before she could get too far, however, the second new arrival plunged his hand straight into her chest with a vicious smirk as she'd watched him yank his hand back out in slow motion it seemed: the still beating piece of Jenova's heart had been clutched in his hand like a precious thing instead of the abomination it was. Her whole world had been sent reeling as her body tried to collapse in on itself from the shock of having such a vital part ripped out and the resulting blood-loss of such a wound.

Now, lying on a cold floor that could have been made of either metal or stone of some kind, she could not recall how exactly she'd gotten there…and that made her extremely wary even as it made her angry; it made her angry because they should not have been able to cause enough damage to move her without her knowledge. The simple fact that she was now in a location that she had not willingly arrived at made her feel vulnerable and that made her already souring mood even worse as she heard voices just beyond her range of vision: she was chained to a wall by her ankles, wrists, waist, and neck by thick bands of a metal she knew to be very strong…it was strong enough in fact to hold even her Jenova form. There were also a series of tightly linked, heavy chains connecting all of the bands that were clasped about her like a collar and shackles: these same chains were what prevented her from rising from the floor…or moving at all for that matter. The wound in her chest was starting to heal, but it was still angry and raw while oozing the blackish-red liquid that she knew to be her own blood; after years of mako and liquid materia injections paired with a portion of Jenova's heart, her blood had long since ceased to look like the blood of any normal creature. Suddenly, she felt it: the sharp almost painful tingle in the back of her neck that always came with Sephiroth.

She hadn't felt it this strong in years, but she knew that the closer he got to her the stronger it would get. It was like this with Genesis and Angeal, and even Zack with the more recent addition of Cloud, but not in the same manner; with them the instinctive reaction was more of an annoyance really, but with Sephiroth it had long ago become an actual physical reaction to his presence that only became more excruciatingly painful the closer he got. It was the absolute worst when he touched her: it had only begun after he had gotten her pregnant when she was sixteen. She'd lost the baby, but obviously there had been some sort of physical link formed between them as a result…and oh, how she hated it. The fact that her not wanting him to touch her was probably what made it painful only pissed her off more, but she wasn't about to try and _enjoy_ his attentions just to stop the pain; he was her half-brother, and the fact that he had gone insane while fixating on her like Genesis did only made it even more wrong in her eyes. Genesis had convinced himself that, as the holder of the Alpha gene, she was the Goddess' physical embodiment and therefore the Goddess herself. Finally, he had seemed to understand that she was not, but she could only hope she'd been right. As the pain escalated further, she knew that her worst expectation had come to pass: Sephiroth was back, and he was in the next room…

~WRO Headquarters, forty days after Alpha's departure~

Cloud, Tifa, Angeal, Cissnei, Zack, Aerith, Vincent, and Lucrecia were all waiting patiently in Reeve's office for said former Shinra employee and the Turks when the door to the office was suddenly thrown wide open: a waist-high blur of blonde and black rocketed directly behind Reeve's office and vanished into the small space under the desk where one's legs might go. The small group experienced a mixture of curiosity, amusement, and surprise as Reeve and the Turks finally made their way in a few minutes later with the exception of Reno and the almost always absent Rufus Shinra. Reeve was rubbing his temple against the headache that the action proclaimed to be obvious while Rude and Tseng were both shaking their heads in what could have been either annoyance or amusement: with the dangerously mild and quiet Wutaian it was always hard to discern any emotion, but with the stoic and bald Rude it was merely a matter of guessing correctly. Suddenly quite calm, Reeve took in and let out a deep breath before kneeling down and extending a hand under his desk; those who had been waiting watched with great interest.

"Adanna, come out sweetheart; nobody is going to be mad at you, and Cait Sith certainly thinks you did not mean it." Reeve's voice was low and he was purposely trying to soothe the girl-child about whatever had driven her to hide under his desk.

"They're wrong…I meant it Pawpaw Reeve! I wanted to make that bad man go away! He hurt Mommy, Uncle Vinny, and Uncle Grim…he hurt lots of good people and they didn't do anything wrong!" Adanna refused to budge from her hiding spot, but they could all hear the hurt and the fury in her trembling voice. "I saw some of the things he did on Mommy's computer…everybody thinks I'm too little to understand, but I do." Finally Adanna edged herself out from under the desk, past Reeve, to stand where everyone could easily see her. "That scientist is a **very**, _**VERY**_ **bad man**! He should be sent away where he can't hurt anybody ever again, and I was going to send him away for Mommy, so that he can't hurt her or anyone else anymore!" Adanna angrily stamped her foot as tears spilled over from her beautiful blue eyes. It was at this precise moment that the sound of arguing, rapidly approaching, could be heard; a second later revealed that the source of the heated dispute was none other that the missing members of the conference, Reno and Rufus, as sounds began to take on distinctive voices and words.

"You had no reason to yell at her like that! She's just a kid Rufus, and she was only trying to help us find Yuri! You are gonna give her an apology or I'm gonna make you wish you hadn't yelled at her!" Reno was extremely pissed indeed if he was openly challenging Rufus' authority, even if it was about Adanna.

"That is not the point Reno!" Rufus snapped furiously at the red-head: they were still a ways down the hall, but their angry voices easily carried through the whole floor. "She may be just a child, and my own child at that, but she willfully attempted to harm and possibly even kill Professor Hojo; in case you've forgotten, he is a valuable asset in the search for Sayuri and he is technically still a Shinra employee…just like you!" As the sound of their voices drew closer, Adanna turned away from the door and covered her ears with her hands while seeking the presumed safety of Vincent's cloak: Vincent was quickly finding that he was growing angry at Rufus for having taken out his anger on Adanna, even if the girl had done something wrong. Scowling briefly, Vincent enveloped Adanna in a brief hug before handing her to Tifa and making a beeline for the door.

"She may be yours by genetics Rufus, but its damn lucky she's all Yuri's in personality because you're a bastard, y'know that?" Reno snarled as the door opened to reveal Rufus; Reno, luckily, was a few steps behind the blond. It was lucky because Vincent loosed a heavy punch straight for Rufus' head as soon as the door had swung far enough in on its hinges for a clear shot: the blow hit home and Rufus landed flat on his back, out cold, as Vincent silently walked back over to Adanna and scooped the girl up into his arms. Reno could only mutter a few choice curses as he blinked down at Rufus a couple times before stepping over the unconscious blond and into Reeve's office.

"Fuckin' hell Vincent…I didn't know you could throw punches like _THAT_…!" Shaking his head appreciatively, Reno turned his full attention to Adanna as the girl let out the barest of sobs. "Hey…Adanna, hey now… Shhh, baby girl don't cry on me! C'mere kiddo…" Vincent smiled as the girl quickly held her arms out to Reno, and was just as quickly enveloped into a protective hug by the red-headed Turk: he was either oblivious to or ignoring the presence of the others in favor of Adanna. Wiping away the little girl's tears, Reno easily carried her over to a chair and proceeded to sit with her snuggled safely against his chest. "There's my princess! Now, you know that you have to tell Pawpaw Reeve exactly what you did, don't you Adanna?" Blonde waves bounced slightly as the girl nodded empathically, still sniffling and wiping away tears of hurt and rage. Reno gave a small sigh as the only sign that he _knew_ how much this was going to cost him to fix: Adanna had just blown up a whole section of the WRO's labs, for they had been 'granted' to Hojo so he could try and re-establish a connection to the microchip embedded in one of the vertebrae in Alpha's lower back. The one in her back was specifically for tracking and identification purposes, while the one Hojo had secretly put at the base of her skull was for more…_unpleasant_…purposes, such as 'training' and 'punishment'. He was mildly pleased when Adanna took it upon herself to start explaining to Reeve without further prompting, and immensely grateful for the fact that the girl was quite mature for all that she had just turned eight a few days previously.

"I saw all the bad things that scientist did on the computer in Mommy's library and in the files in Papa's office… He did lots of really bad things to a lot of good people just like Mommy and Uncle Vinny." Adanna looked to Vincent and gave him a shy, loving smile. Vincent understood that look and smiled back; Adanna had most likely read all of the files on the experiments that Hojo had done to him and was sad because of it. Vincent was also painfully aware that Lucrecia was looking from Adanna to him with a mixture of confusion and amazement on her face: Adanna's maturity and intelligence were well above average for an eight-year-old, and the fact that she kept referring to him as 'Uncle Vinny' while referring to Sayuri as 'Mommy' was doubtlessly mind boggling for most of those present. "What he did to Uncle Grim was awful…a good person doesn't do things like that to other good people! I've heard Mommy at night, when Daddy's working…she cries a lot, and sometimes she even wakes up screaming. It scares me when Mommy acts like that more than it does when she's working. I'm sorry I didn't tell you Daddy, but Mommy told me to forget about it because it would be our little secret. She told me it would stop happening, and it did after a few nights." Adanna cast her eyes towards the floor in assumed guilt and shame for not having told Reno about this beforehand: the look on his face easily gave the fact away to the others that he was distressed, but not angry with the little girl who called him Daddy. Reeve, on the other hand, was speechless: he was often hard pressed to remember that Adanna was still only a small child just as surely as many of the others who interacted with her were.

"Adanna, do you mean to say that your mother knew this was going to happen?" Reeve asked with caution and mild awe: Sayuri, or Alpha if one so chose to call her that, had always been an impressive woman in his mind, but she was even more so for surviving the experiments that Hojo had forced upon her and becoming the only female SOLDIER First Class in the history of the SOLDIER program. Adanna nodded miserably from her place in Reno's lap, and everyone made some form of surprised exclamation: Sayuri had _known_?

"Well of course JA-XIII-00 knew Mr. Tuesti; she is intimately linked with Sephiroth even now, and just as she always has been ever since they were small children growing up in Shinra. Admittedly, that link was not nearly as strong as it is now until after she carried Sephiroth's child for five months at the age of sixteen: regrettably, that specimen was lost before it was of a viable age. However, she retained a very strong bond with him even after the loss of the fetus; that bond is both physical and spiritual in a sense. To put it succinctly, she knows where he is at any given millisecond of any given day, and the closer he gets to her the stronger the physical link becomes; I have been told that she experiences severe pain whenever he is within a 1.6 km radius of her." Hojo's words as he entered Reeve's office earned him several dirty and wary looks: it was obvious he was not well-liked, and yet he didn't seem to be the least bit fazed by this knowledge. "I would not be surprised in the least if JA-XIII-00 returns to her training in an attempt to resist Sephiroth…" Hojo paced over to the window without looking at any of them, for he was deeply engrossed in his own thoughts. "The woman all of you know as Sayuri will not be coming back, of that I can certainly assure you: Alpha will be coming back, and she will not be happy to learn that in her eight year slumber she has birthed a child of the Shinra family, much less that she has become a weak and merciful being in her time locked inside the other half of her subconscious." Reno had moved without anyone noticing, silently sending Adanna out of the room with Aerith, and he now stood nose to nose with the scientist as he turned back to face the group gathered in Reeve's office: Hojo was startled, but showed no outward sign of fear or surprise beyond a raised eyebrow.

Reno gave him no warning as he caught Hojo by the throat and all but snarled at him. Rude and Tseng immediately went forward to restrain the furious red-head before he could strangle Hojo himself, but Reno was quicker than either of them as he used all of his strength to slam Hojo onto Reeve's desk with a threat that was anything but idle: Hojo merely laughed at him.

"Do you honestly think she gives a damn about that child? It was convenient to maintaining a cover, one that you so willingly provided for her I might add! She is a SOLDIER First Class in everything she does: that is who she is in her heart, mind, body, and soul! _**She is Alpha, the best SOLDIER who has ever been and the perfect match for Sephiroth!**_" Hojo was laughing that maniacal laugh of his, the one that always made Reno's skin crawl. "She has never been anything else, and if she were then it would not truly be the real her! She split herself into two halves when she was a child to keep herself sane, but eventually both halves must reconcile Turk! When that happens, pray you have the brains to accept that she is beyond your pathetic reach!" Reno was sick, violently so, and all he could think of was to shut Hojo up: he punched him so hard that he heard a sickening crunch as the older man's jaw shattered even as he stood and stormed out of the office without sparing a glance at the others. Tseng nodded to Rude, who dutifully followed his partner to make sure he didn't do anything rash, before gesturing helplessly to Reeve: they now had a justly injured mad scientist and an unconscious former President lying prostrate on the floor. Both of them had quite truthfully asked for what had been dealt them, so nobody really felt bad about leaving them lying there in favor of moving to the conference room adjacent to Reeve's office; naturally, Reeve had a few WRO members posted to keep an eye on them, but that was just precautionary. Once they had all settled in the conference room, it was Angeal who was the first to speak up regarding Hojo's words.

"I'm afraid that Hojo might be correct about Sayuri…" Zack began to protest, but Angeal cut him off before he could utter a syllable. "Just wait and listen Zack; I remember more of Sayuri's days as 'Alpha' than you do, and rightly so. You were merely a Cadet when she was put on Inactive Duty while being secretly dispatched to Wutai as Sephiroth's back-up. She looked so much like him then…it's no wonder nobody ever realized it wasn't him. Or haven't any of you noticed that aside from Hojo's personal specimen files, which were viewable only to President Shinra, Rufus Shinra, and Director Lazard, that there are no records of 'Sayuri Crescent' or 'Alpha Valentine'? And that is both inside or out of Shinra. Basically, she never existed outside of Hojo's lab and the files he kept there. When she was transferred to the Turks, her SOLDIER service records were all destroyed; Hojo and the President had the only surviving copies. She was given a cover: a new name, a new personality to act out, and a whole new spin on her life… She was expected to become somebody else entirely, and to sever all ties to us; the reports she compiled herself state that she would often sneak by to check on Zack's status, but she stopped when she found out he'd been taken to Nibelheim by Hojo. She tried to find out what was going on, but she wasn't really allowed to have any contact with any of the SOLDIERs. Naturally, none of them knew what was going on anyway; Zack was presumed by many, Sayuri among them, to be dead if I recall correctly."

"Wait a second…" Angeal paused, giving Elena a critical appraisal even though he had complied unconsciously to her request by halting in the explanation of his theories. "I'm sorry, but did you just say that she compiled reports herself? On _what_?"

"On herself, Shinra, and other SOLDIERs of course. She has also documented the events that have occurred since the deaths of each respective person in this room who has been brought back by her methods; these reports were made available to all of us, separately, as we were awakened. Now, I assume that she has left a clue as to the whereabouts of these files she's put together for Reeve, since he is technically her current employer. More importantly, I believe she left them for Zack and myself, since we are both SOLDIERs and will be required if the fight she's expecting does indeed break out." Angeal held out a small pearlescent green orb: it appeared to be materia of some kind. Cloud was the first to recognize it for what it was and reached out with the slightest hesitation to take it in his hand.

"Aerith's White Materia…" He murmured thoughtfully as he carefully examined the orb. It was at that moment that Aerith came back into the room, with Reno at her side, saying that Adanna had disappeared.


End file.
